Hostname: page-component-89b8bd64d-46n74 Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2026-05-07T13:12:08.187Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

School Social Behavior Scales: an Adaptation Study of the Portuguese Version of the Social Competence Scale from SSBS-2

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  10 January 2013

Raquel Raimundo ,
Elsa Carapito ,
Ana Isabel Pereira ,
Alexandra Marques Pinto ,
Maria Luísa Lima  and
Maria Teresa Ribeiro
Raquel Raimundo*
Affiliation:
Universidade de Lisboa (Portugal)
Elsa Carapito
Affiliation:
Universidade de Lisboa (Portugal)
Ana Isabel Pereira
Affiliation:
Universidade de Lisboa (Portugal)
Alexandra Marques Pinto
Affiliation:
Universidade de Lisboa (Portugal)
Maria Luísa Lima
Affiliation:
ISCTE, Instituto Universitário de Lisboa (Portugal)
Maria Teresa Ribeiro
Affiliation:
Universidade de Lisboa (Portugal)
*
Correspondence concerning this article should be addressed to Raquel Raimundo. Faculdade da Psicologia, Universidade de Lisboa. Alameda da Universidade 1949-013, Lisboa (Portugal). E-mail: rraimundo@campus.ul.pt
Get access Rights & Permissions [Opens in a new window]

Abstract

This study analyses the psychometric proprieties of a Portuguese version of the social competence scale from the School Social Behavior Scales (SSBS-2, Merrell, 2002). It is a rating instrument of children and adolescents behavior, to be used by teachers and other school personnel. This scale includes 3 subscales: self-management/compliance, peer relations and academic behavior. In our first sample, 175 teachers rated 344 students from grade 1 through 12. On the second sample 13 teachers rated 251 3rd and 4th grades students. The results from the Portuguese adaptation support the multidimensional structure of the social competence scale from the SSBS-2, although an alternative model demonstrated a better fit to the data than the model originally proposed by the author. The scale showed good internal consistency and good intercorrelations between subscales, as well as between subscales and the total scale. The final model was well replicated in the second sample. These results encourage us to pursue the SSBS-2 Portuguese adaptation, in order to provide a useful and validated instrument for the assessment of social competence and for educational interventions.

El presente estudio analiza las características psicométricas de la versión portuguesa de la escala School Social Behavior Scales (SSBS-2, Merrell, 2002). Se trata de un instrumento de calificación del comportamiento de los niños y adolescentes, para ser utilizado por los maestros y por otro personal educativo. Esta escala incluye tres subescalas: autocontrol/conformidad, las relaciones entre pares y el comportamiento académico. En nuestra primera muestra, 175 maestros calificaron 344 estudiantes del 1⍛ al 12⍛ grado escolar. En la segunda muestra, 13 profesores calificaron 251 estudiantes de 3⍛ y 4⍛ grado escolar. Los resultados de la adaptación portuguesa apoyan la estructura multidimensional de la escala de competencia social del SSBS-2, a pesar de un modelo alternativo demostrar un mejor ajuste a los datos que el modelo propuesto originalmente por el autor. La escala reveló una buena consistencia interna y una buena correlación entre las subescalas, así como entre las subescalas y la escala total. El modelo final se replicó bien en la segunda muestra. Estos resultados nos incentivan a proseguir la adaptación portuguesa del SSBS-2, a fin de proporcionar un instrumento útil y validado para la evaluación de la competencia social y para las intervenciones educativas.

Keywords

social competenceassessmentvalidationSchool Social Behavior Scalescompetencia socialevaluaciónvalidaciónSchool Social Behavior Scales

Information

Type
Research Article
Information
The Spanish Journal of Psychology , Volume 15 , Issue 3 , November 2012 , pp. 1473 - 1484
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 2012

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

Article purchase

Temporarily unavailable

References

Browne, M. W., & Cudeck, R. (1992). Alternative ways of assessing model fit. Sociological Methods & Research, 21, 230–258 http://dx.doi.org/10.1177/0049124192021002005CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Byrne, B. M. (2010). Structural equation modeling with AMOS: Basic concepts, applications, and programming. New York, NY: Routledge.Google Scholar
Caldarella, P., & Merrell, K. W. (1997). Common dimensions of social skills of children and adolescents: A taxonomy of positive behaviors. School Psychology Review, 26, 264–278.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Caldarella, P., & Merrell, K. W. (2002). Home & Community Social Behavior Scales. Eugene, OR: Assessment-Intervention Resources.Google Scholar
Catalano, R. F., Berglung, M. L., Ryan, J. A. M., Lonczak, H. S., & Hawkins, J. D. (2002). Positive youth development in the United States: Research findings on evaluations of positive youth development programs. Prevention & Treatment, 5, Article 15. http://dx.doi.org/10.1037/1522-3736.5.1.515aGoogle Scholar
Cheung, G. W., & Rensvold, R. B. (2002). Evaluating goodness-of-fit indexes for testing measurement invariance. Structural Equation Modeling: A Multidisciplinary Journal, 9, 233–255. http://dx.doi.org/10.1207/S15328007SEM0902_5Google Scholar
Collins, J. M., & Gleaves, D. H. (1998). Race, job applicants, and the five-factor model of personality: Implications for black psychology, industrial/organizational psychology, and the five-factor theory. Journal of Applied Psychology, 83, 531–544. http://dx.doi.org/10.1037//0021-9010.83.4.531Google Scholar
Conger, J. C., & Keane, S. P. (1981). Social skills intervention in the treatment of isolated or withdrawn children. Psychological Bulletin, 90, 478–495. http://dx.doi.org/10.1037//0033-2909.90.3.478CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Consortium on the School-Based Promotion of Social Competence (1996). The school-based promotion of social competence: Theory, research, practice, and policy. In Haggerty, R. J., Sherrod, L. R., Garmezy, N., & Rutter, M. (Eds.), Stress, risk, and resilience in children and adolescents: Processes, mechanisms, and interventions (pp. 268–316). New York, NY: Cambridge University Press.Google Scholar
Crowley, S. L., & Merrell, K. W. (2003). The structure of the School Social Behavior Scales: A confirmatory factor analysis. Assessment for Effective Intervention, 28, 41–55. http://dx.doi.org/10.1177/073724770302800205CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Cummings, K. D., Kaminski, R. A., & Merrell, K. W. (2008). Advances in the assessment of social competence: Findings from a preliminary investigation of a general outcome measure for social behavior. Psychology in the Schools, 45, 930–946. http://dx.doi.org/10.1002/pits.20343Google Scholar
DeMulder, E. K., Denham, S., Schmidt, M., & Mitchell, J. (2000). Q-sort assessment of attachment security during the preschool years: Links from home to school. Developmental Psychology, 36, 274–282. http://dx.doi.org/10.1037//0012-1649.36.2.274Google Scholar
Denham, S. A., Mitchell-Copeland, J., Strandberg, K., Auerbach, S., & Blair, K. (1997). Parental contributions to preschoolers' emotional competence: Direct and indirect effects. Motivation and Emotion, 21, 65–86. http://dx.doi.org/10.1023/A:1024426431247Google Scholar
Denham, S. A., Wyatt, T. M., Bassett, H. H., Echeverria, D., & Knox, S. S. (2009). Assessing social-emotional development in children from a longitudinal perspective. Journal of Epidemiology&Community Health, 63, 37–52. http://dx.doi.org/10.1136/jech.2007.070797Google ScholarPubMed
DiPerna, J. C. (2006). Academic enablers and student achievement: Implications for assessment and intervention services in the schools. Psychology in the Schools, 43, 7–17. http://dx.doi.org/10.1002/pits.20125Google Scholar
Durlak, J., Weissberg, R., Dyminicki, A., Taylor, R., & Schellinger, K. (2011). The impact of enhancing students' social and emotional learning: A meta-analysis of school-based universal interventions. Child Development, 82, 405–432. http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/j.1467-8624.2010.01564.xCrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Durlak, J. A., Weissberg, R. P., & Pachan, M. (2010). A meta-analysis of after-school programs that seek to promote personal and social skills in children and adolescents. American Journal of Community Psychology, 45, 294–309. http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/s10464-010-9300-6Google Scholar
Eisenberg, N., & Harris, J. D. (1984). Social competence: A developmental perspective. School Psychology Review, 13, 267–277.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Feldman, R., & Masalha, S. (2010). Parent-child and triadic antecedents of children's social competence: Cultural specificity, shared process. Developmental Psychology, 46, 455–467. http://dx.doi.org/10.1037/a0017415CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Floyd, F. J., & Widaman, K. F. (1995). Factor analysis in the development and refinement of clinical assessment instruments. Psychological Assessment, 7, 286–299. http://dx.doi.org/10.1037//1040-3590.7.3.286CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Gomes, E. (2008). Validação da versão portuguesa de uma escala de competências sociais para crianças [Validation of the portuguese version of one social competence scale for children]. (Unpublished master's thesis), ISCTE – Lisbon University Institute, Lisbon, Portugal.Google Scholar
Granic, I., & Patterson, G. R. (2006). Toward a comprehensive model of antisocial development: Adynamic systems approach. Psychological Review, 113, 101–131. http://dx.doi.org/10.1037/0033-295X.113.1.101Google Scholar
Greenberg, M., Domitrovich, C., & Bumbarger, B. (2001). The prevention of mental disorders in school-aged children: Current state of the field. Prevention & Treatment, 4, Article 1a. http://dx.doi.org/10.1037//1522-3736.4.1.41aGoogle Scholar
Gresham, F. M., & Elliott, S. N. (1984). Assessment and classification of children's social skills: A review of methods and issues. School Psychology Review, 13, 292–301.Google Scholar
Gresham, F. M., & Elliott, S. N. (1990). The social skills rating system. Circle Pines, MN: American Guidance Service.Google Scholar
Gresham, F. M., & Elliott, S. N. (2008). Base rates of social skills acquisition/performance deficits, strengths, and problem behaviors: An analysis of the social skills improvement system – rating scales. Psychological Assessment. Advance online publicationGoogle Scholar
Hu, L., & Bentler, P. M. (1999). Cutoff criteria for fit indexes in covariance structure analysis: Conventional criteria versus new alternatives. Structural Equation Modeling, 6(1), 1–55. http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/10705519909540118CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Kline, R. B. (1998). Principles and practices of structural equation modeling. New York, NY: The Guilford Press.Google Scholar
Lemos, M., & Meneses, H. (2002). A avaliação da competência social: Versão portuguesa da forma para professores do SSRS [Social competence assessment:The portuguese version of SSRS teacher scale]. Psicologia: Teoria e Pesquisa, 18, 267–274. http://dx.doi.org/10.1590/S0102-37722002000300005Google Scholar
Major, S. O. (2007). Avaliação de aptidões sociais e problemas de comportamento em idade pré-escolar: Estudo exploratório com crianças portuguesas [Assessment of social skills and behavior problems in the pre-school: An exploratory study with portuguese children]. (Unpublished master's thesis). University of Coimbra, Coimbra, Portugal.Google Scholar
Major, S. O., & Seabra-Santos, M. J. (2009). Assessment of social skills and problem behaviors in preschool age: Parent-teacher agreement for Portuguese children. In Book of Abstracts of the 10th European Conference on Psychological Assessment (p. 145). Ghent, Belgium: Ghent University.Google Scholar
Maroco, J. (2010). Análise de equações estruturais: Fundamentos teóricos, software & aplicações [Structural equation analysis: Theoretical fundaments, software and applications]. Lisbon, Portugal: Edições Sílabo.Google Scholar
Merrell, K. W. (1993a). School Social Behavior Scales. Eugene, OR: Assessment-Intervention Resources.Google Scholar
Merrell, K. W. (1993b). Using behavior rating scales to assess social skills and antisocial behavior in school settings: Development of the School Social Behavior Scales. School Psychology Review, 22, 115–133.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Merrell, K. W. (2001). Assessment of children's social skills: Recent developments, best practices, and new directions. Exceptionality, 9, 3–18. http://dx.doi.org/10.1207/S15327035EX091&2_2CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Merrell, K. W. (2002). School Social Behavior Scales, Second Edition. Eugene, OR: Assessment-Intervention Resources.Google Scholar
Pedro, C & Albuquerque, C.P. (2007). Questionáriodeavaliaçãode aptidões sociais: SSRS – versão alunos [Social skills assessment questionnaire:SSRS—studentversion]. Psychologica, 45, 87–102.Google Scholar
Schmidt, M. E., DeMulder, E. K., & Denham, S. A. (2002). Kindergarten social-emotional competence: Developmental predictors and psychosocial implications. Early Child Developmental and Care, 172, 451–462. http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/03004430214550Google Scholar
Segars, A. H., & Grover, V. (1993). Re-examining perceived ease of use and usefulness: A confirmatory factor analysis. MIS Quarterly, 17, 517–525. http://dx.doi.org/10.2307/249590Google Scholar
Wentzel, K. R, & Watkins, D. E. (2002). Peer relationships and collaborative learning as contexts for academic enablers. School Psychology Review, 31, 366–377.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Yukai-Yuksel, M. (2009). A Turkish version of the School Social Behavior Scales (SSBS). Educational Sciences: Theory & Practice, 9, 1633–1650.Google Scholar