Social Behavior Inventory for Children in a Child Abuse Treatment Program: Development of a Tool to Measure Interpersonal Behavior

• NCJ Number: 190010
• Journal: Child Maltreatment Volume: 6 Issue: 3 Dated: August 2001 Pages: 260-270
• Author(s): Kevin J. Gully
• Editor(s): Mark Chaffin
• Date Published: August 2001
• Length: 11 pages
• Publication Format: Article
• Publication Type: Report (Study/Research)
• Language: English
• Country: United States of America

Annotation

This study explored whether reliable and valid information about interpersonal behavior could be obtained through the development of the Social Behavior Inventory (SBI) for use with children in a child abuse treatment program.

Abstract

Interpersonal behavior is a core issue for abused children. The central role of interpersonal behavior in the lives of abused children highlights that it is important to assess interpersonal behavior to set treatment goals and evaluate treatment outcomes. This article presented information about the Social Behavior Inventory (SBI), a tool that could measure the interpersonal behavior of children participating in a child abuse treatment program. One sample of children came from the community and had no reported history of abuse or mental health services. A second sample was children obtaining therapy services through a child abuse treatment program. Factor analysis of scores provided by parents for their children obtaining therapy services led to the development of three scales to assess aversive interpersonal behavior, two to measure pro-social interpersonal behavior, and one to measure total interpersonal competence. Numerous indices of reliability and validity were presented. Data delineated the potential value of the scales for assessing the impact of therapy. Results showed the value of the SBI for assessing in an easy and rapid manner the interpersonal behavior of children when rated by parents and possibly therapists. Overall, the data suggested that the SBI might be a tool for parents and therapists to rate the interpersonal behavior of children receiving services from a child abuse treatment program. Future studies would be necessary to determine if the SBI could provide useful data to conduct research on the effectiveness of treatment protocols to the extent doses of the treatment were implemented. Tables and references