Hostname: page-component-cd9895bd7-gbm5v Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-12-24T01:10:03.810Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false

Assessment Practices and Issues with School-refusing Children

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  06 October 2014

Thomas H. Ollendick*
Affiliation:
Virginia Polytechnic Institute andState University
Neville J. King
Affiliation:
Monash University
*
Child Study Center, Department of Psychology, Virginia Polytechnic Institute andState University, Blacksburg VA 24060, USA
Get access

Extract

School refusal is a complex and heterogeneously determined and experienced behaviour problem. Due to its complexity and heterogeneity, a multimethod and multisource approach to assessment is required. The approach is described as a hypothesis-testing approach which uses developmentally sensitive and empirically validated procedures. Clinical-behavioural interviews, structured diagnostic interviews, self-reports, reports of significant others, self-monitoring, and behavioural observations are recommended. Issues associated with these procedures are reviewed.

Type
Research Article
Copyright
Copyright © The Author(s) 1998

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.)

References

Achenbach, T.M. (1978). The Child Behavior Profile: I. Boys aged 6–11. Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology, 46, 478488.Google Scholar
Achenbach, T.M. (1985). Assessment of anxiety in children. In Tuma, A.H. & Maser, J. (Eds.), Anxiety and the anxiety disorders (pp. 709734). Hillsdale, NJ: Erlbaum.Google Scholar
Achenbach, T.M., & Edelbrock, C.S. (1979). The Child Behavior Profile: II. Boys aged 12–16 and girls aged 6–11 and 12–16. Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology, 47, 223233.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Achenbach, T.M., McConaughy, S.H., & Howell, C.T. (1987). Child and adolescent behavioral and emotional problems: Implications of cross-informant correlations for situational specificity. Psychological Bulletin, 101, 213232.Google Scholar
American Psychiatric Association. (1994). Diagnostic and statistical manual of mental disorders (4th ed.). Washington, DC: Author.Google Scholar
Ayllon, T., Smith, D., & Rogers, M. (1970). Behavioral management of school phobia. Journal of Behavior Therapy and Experimental Psychiatry, 1, 125138.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Beck, A., Ward, C., Mendelson, M., Mock, J., & Erbaugh, J. (1961). An inventory for measuring depression. Archives of General Psychiatry, 4, 561571.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Beidel, D. (1991). Social phobia and overanxious disorder in school-age children. Journal of the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, 30, 545552.Google Scholar
Beidel, D.C., Neal, A.M., & Lederer, A.S. (1991). The feasibility and validity of a daily diary for the assessment of anxiety in children. Behavior Therapy, 22, 505517.Google Scholar
Berganza, C.E., & Anders, T.F. (1978). An epidemiologic approach to school absenteeism. Journal of the American Academy of Child Psychiatry, 17, 117125.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Birleson, P. (1981). The validity of depressive disorder in childhood and the development of a self-rating scale: A research report. Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry, 22, 7388.Google Scholar
Blagg, N. (1987). School phobia and its treatment. London: Croom Helm.Google Scholar
Boyd, C.P., & Gullone, E. (1997). Negative affectivity: Adolescent self-reports. Journal of Clinical Child Psychology, 26, 190197.Google Scholar
Broadwin, I.T. (1932). A contribution to the study of truancy. American Journal of Orthopsychiatry, 2, 253259.Google Scholar
Burke, A.E., & Silverman, W.K. (1987). The prescriptive treatment of school refusal. Clinical Psychology Review, 7, 353362.Google Scholar
Casteneda, A., McCandless, B.R., & Palmero, D.S. (1956). The children's form of the Manifest Anxiety Scale. Child Development, 16, 317326.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Chiles, J.A., Miller, M.L., & Cox, G.B. (1980). Depression in adolescent delinquent population. Archives of General Psychiatry, 37, 11791184.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Cone, J.D. (1978). The behavioral assessment grid (BAG): A conceptual framework and taxonomy. Behavior Therapy, 9, 882888.Google Scholar
Dadds, M.R., Rapee, R.M., & Barrett, P.M. (1994). Behavioral observation. In Ollendick, T.H., King, N.J., & Yule, W. (Eds.), International handbook of phobic and anxiety disorders in children and adolescents (pp. 349364). New York: Plenum.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Doerfler, L.A., Felner, R.D., Rowlison, R.T., Raley, P.A., & Evans, E. (1988). Depression in children and adolescents: A comparative analysis of the utility and construct validity of two assessment measures. Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology, 56, 769772.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Dong, Q., Yang, B., & Ollendick, T.H. (1994). Fears in Chinese children and adolescents and their relations to anxiety and depression. Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry, 35, 351363.Google Scholar
Evans, I.M., & Nelson, R.O. (1977). Assessment of child behavior problems. In Ciminero, A.R., Calhoun, K.S., & Adams, H.E. (Eds.), Handbook of behavioral assessment (pp. 603681). New York: Wiley.Google Scholar
Finch, A.J. Jr., Saylor, C.F., & Edwards, G.L. (1985). Children's Depression Inventory: Sex and grade norms for normal children. Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology, 53, 424425.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Forehand, R.L., & McMahon, R.J. (1981). Helping the non-compliant child: A clinician's guide to parent training. New York: Guilford.Google Scholar
Gross, A.M. (1984). Behavioral interviewing. In Ollendick, T.H. & Hersen, M. (Eds), Child behavioral assessment: Principles and procedures (pp. 6179). New York: Pergamon.Google Scholar
Gullone, E., & King, N.J. (1992). Psychometric evaluation of a revised fear survey schedule for children and adolescents. Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry, 33, 987998.Google Scholar
Hayes, S.C., Nelson, R.O., & Jarett, R.B. (1987). The treatment utility of assessment: A functional approach to evaluating assessment quality. American Psychologist, 42, 963974.Google Scholar
Heyne, D., King, N.J., Tonge, B.J., Pritchard, M., Young, D., Rollings, S., & Myerson, N. (1996). The Self-efficacy Questionnaire for School Situations: Psychometric properties and clinical utility. Paper presented at the Conference of the Australian Association for Cognitive and Behaviour Therapy, Melbourne.Google Scholar
Kazdin, A.E. (1981). Assessment techniques for childhood depression: A critical appraisal. Journal of the American Academy of Child Psychiatry, 20, 358375.Google Scholar
Kazdin, A.E. (1988). Childhood depression. In Mash, E.J. & Terdal, L.G. (Eds.), Behavioral assessment of childhood disorders (pp. 157195). New York: Guilford.Google Scholar
Kearney, C.A., Eisen, A.R., & Silverman, W.K. (1995). The legend and myth of school phobia. School Psychology Quarterly, 10, 6585.Google Scholar
Kearney, C.A., & Silverman, W.K. (1988). Measuring the function of school refusal behavior: The School Refusal Assessment Scale. Paper presented at the Annual Meeting of the Association for Advancement of Behavior Therapy, New York.Google Scholar
Kearney, C.A., & Silverman, W.K. (1990). A preliminary analysis of a functional model of assessment and treatment for school refusal behavior. Behavior Modification, 14, 340366.Google Scholar
Kearney, C.A., & Silverman, W.K. (1993). Measuring the function of school refusal behavior: The School Refusal Assessment Scale. Journal of Clinical Child Psychology, 22, 8596.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Kearney, C.A., & Silverman, W.K. (1995). Family environment of youngsters with school refusal behavior: A synopsis with implications for assessment and treatment American Journal of Family Therapy, 23, 5972.Google Scholar
King, N.J., Hamilton, D.I., & Ollendick, T.H. (1988). Children's phobias: A behavioural perspective. London: Wiley.Google Scholar
King, N.J., Ollendick, T.H., & Gullone, E. (1991). Negative affectivity in children and adolescents: Relations between anxiety and depression. Clinical Psychology Review, 11, 441459.Google Scholar
King, N.J., Ollendick, T.H., & Tonge, B.J. (1995). School refusal: Assessment and treatment. Needham Heights, MA: Allyn & Bacon.Google Scholar
King, N.J., Ollendick, T.H., Tonge, B.J., Heyne, D., Pritchard, M., Rollings, S., Young, D., & Myerson, N. (1996). Behavioural management of school refusal. Scandinavian Journal of Behaviour Therapy, 25, 315.Google Scholar
Kovacs, M., & Beck, A.T. (1977). An empirical-clinical approach toward a definition of childhood depression. In Schulterbrandt, J.G. & Raskin, A. (Eds.), Depression in childhood: Diagnosis, treatment, and conceptual models (pp. 125). New York: Raven.Google Scholar
Kunzelman, H.D. (Ed.). (1970). Precision teaching. Seattle: Special Child Publications.Google Scholar
Lang, P.J., & Lazovik, A.D. (1963). Experimental desensitization of a phobia. Journal of Abnormal and Social Psychology, 66, 519525.Google Scholar
Last, C.G., Francis, G., & Strauss, C.C. (1989) Assessing anxiety-disordered children with the Revised Fear Survey Schedule for Children (FSSC-R). Journal of Clinical Child Psychology, 18, 137141.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Mash, E.J., & Terdal, L.G. (Eds.). (1981). Behavioral assessment of childhood disorders. New York: Guilford.Google Scholar
Mash, E.J., & Terdal, L.G. (Eds.). (1988). Behavioral assessment of childhood disorders (2nd ed.). New York: Guilford.Google Scholar
McMahon, R.J. (1984). Behavioral checklists and rating forms. In Ollendick, T.H. & Hersen, M. (Eds.), Child behavioral assessment: Principles and procedures (pp. 80105). Elmsford, NY: Pergamon.Google Scholar
McNamara, E. (1988). The self-management of school phobia: A case study. Behavioural Psychotherapy, 16, 217229.Google Scholar
Miller, L.C., Barrett, C.L., & Hampe, E. (1974). Phobias in children in a prescientific era. In Davids, A. (Ed.), Child personality and psychopathology: Current topics (Vol. 1, pp. 89134). New York: Wiley.Google Scholar
Miller, L.C., Barrett, C.L., Hampe, E., & Noble, H. (1971). Revised anxiety scales for the Louisville Behavioral Checklist. Psychology Reports, 29, 503511.Google Scholar
Murphy, G.C., Hudson, A.M., King, N.J., & Remenyi, A. (1985). An interview schedule for use in the behavioral assessment of children's problems. Behaviour Change, 2, 612.Google Scholar
Neisworth, J.T., Madie, R.A., & Goeke, K.E. (1975). “Errorless” elimination of separation anxiety: A case study. Journal of Behavioral Therapy and Experimental Psychology, 6, 7982.Google Scholar
Ollendick, T.H. (1983). Reliability and validity of the Revised Fear Survey Schedule for Children (FSSC-R). Behaviour Research and Therapy, 21, 685692.Google Scholar
Ollendick, T.H., & Cerny, J.A. (1981). Clinical behavior therapy with children. New York: Plenum.Google Scholar
Ollendick, T.H., & Francis, G. (1988). Behavioral assessment and treatment of childhood phobias. Behavior Modification, 12, 165204.Google Scholar
Ollendick, T.H., & Greene, R. (1990). Behavioral assessment of children. In Goldstein, G. & Hersen, M. (Eds.), Handbook of psychological assessment (2nd ed., pp. 403422). New York: Pergamon.Google Scholar
Ollendick, T.H., & Greene, R. (in press). Child behavioral assessment. In Reynolds, C.R. (Ed.), Psychiatry and assessment and formulation. Oxford: Elsevier.Google Scholar
Ollendick, T.H., Hagopian, L.P., & Huntzinger, R.M. (1991). Cognitive-behavior therapy with nighttime fearful children. Journal of Behavior Therapy and Experimental Psychiatry, 22, 113121.Google Scholar
Ollendick, T.H., & Hersen, M. (Eds.). (1984). Child behavioral assessment: Principles and procedures. New York: Pergamon.Google Scholar
Ollendick, T.H., & Hersen, M. (1993). Handbook of child and adolescent assessment. New York: Pergamon.Google Scholar
Ollendick, T.H., King, N.J., & Frary, R.B. (1989). Fears in children and adolescents: Reliability and general-izability across gender, age, and nationality. Behaviour Research and Therapy, 27, 1926.Google Scholar
Ollendick, T.H., & Mayer, J.A. (1984). School phobia. In Turner, S.M. (Ed.), Behavioral treatment of anxiety disorders (pp. 367411). New York: Plenum.Google Scholar
Ollendick, T.H., Yang, B., King, N.J., Dong, Q., & Akande, A. (1996). Fears in American, Australian, Chinese, and Nigerian children and adolescents: A cross-cultural study. Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry, 37, 213220.Google Scholar
Ollendick, T.H., & Yule, W. (1990). Depression in British and American children and its relation to anxiety and fear. Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology, 58, 126129.Google Scholar
Ollendick, T.H., Yule, W., & Ollier, K. (1990). Fears in British children and their relationship to manifest anxiety and depression. Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry, 32, 321331.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Patterson, G.R. (1982). Coercive family process. Eugene, OR: Castalia.Google Scholar
Quay, H.C., & Peterson, D.R. (1983). Manual for the Revised Behavioral Problem Checklist. Unpublished manuscript.Google Scholar
Rapee, R.M., Barrett, P.M., Dadds, M.R., & Evans, L. (1994). Reliability of the DSM-III-R childhood anxiety disorders using structured interview: Interrater and parent–child agreement. Journal of the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, 33, 984992.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Reynolds, C.R., & Paget, K.D. (1983). National normative and reliability data for the Revised Children's Manifest Anxiety Scale. School Psychology Review, 12, 324336.Google Scholar
Reynolds, C.R., & Richmond, B.O. (1978). What I think and feel: A revised measure of children's manifest anxiety. Journal of Abnormal Child Psychology, 6, 271280.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Reynolds, W.M. (1987). Reynolds Adolescent Depression Scale (RADS) professional manual. Odessa, FL: Psychological Assessment Resources.Google Scholar
Reynolds, W.M. (1992). Depression in children and adolescents. In Reynolds, W.M. (Ed.), Internalizing disorders in children and adolescents (pp. 149198). New York: Wiley.Google Scholar
Richmond, B.O., & Millar, G.W. (1984). What I think and feel: A cross-cultural study of anxiety in children. Psychology in the Schools, 21, 252257.Google Scholar
Richmond, B.O., Sekume, S., Ohmoto, M., Kawamoto, H., & Hamazaki, T. (1984). Anxiety among Canadian, Japanese, and American children. Journal of Psychology, 116, 36.Google Scholar
Ryall, M.R., & Dietiker, K.E. (1979). Reliability and clinical validity of the Children's Fear Survey Schedule. Journal of Behavior Therapy and Experimental Psychiatry, 10, 303309.Google Scholar
Scherer, M.W., & Nakamura, C.Y. (1968). A Fear Survey Schedule for Children (FSSC): A factor-analytic comparison with manifest anxiety (CMAS). Behavior Research and Therapy, 6, 173182.Google Scholar
Seligman, M.E.P., Peterson, C., Kaslow, N.J., Tanenbaum, R.L., Alloy, L.B., & Abramson, L.Y. (1984). Attributional style and depressive symptoms among children. Journal of Abnormal Psychology, 93, 235238.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Shapiro, E.S. (1984). Self-monitoring. In Ollendick, T.H. & Hersen, M. (Eds.), Child behavioral assessment: Principles and procedures (pp. 148165). Elmsford, NY: Pergamon.Google Scholar
Silverman, W.K. (1991). Diagnostic reliability of anxiety disorders in children using structured interviews. Journal of Anxiety Disorders, 5, 105124.Google Scholar
Silverman, W.K. (1994). Structured diagnostic interviews. In Ollendick, T.H., King, N.J., & Yule, W. (Eds.), International handbook of phobic and anxiety disorders in children and adolescents (pp. 293315). New York: Plenum.Google Scholar
Silverman, W.K., & Eisen, A.R. (1992). Age differences in the reliability of parent and child reports of anxious symptomatology using a structured interview. Journal of the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, 31, 117124.Google Scholar
Silverman, W.K., & Nelles, W.B. (1988). The anxiety disorders interview schedule for children. Journal of the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, 27, 772778.Google Scholar
Smucker, M.R., Craighead, W.E., Craighead, L.W., & Green, B.J. (1986). Normative and reliability data for the Children's Depression Inventory. Journal of Abnormal Child Psychology, 14, 2539.Google Scholar
Strauss, C.C., Forehand, R., Frame, C., & Smith, K. (1984). Characteristics of children with extreme scores on the Children's Depression Inventory. Journal of Clinical Child Psychology, 13, 227231.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Watson, D., & Clark, L.A. (1984). Negative affectivity: The disposition to experience aversive emotional states. Psychological Bulletin, 96, 465490.Google Scholar
Wolfe, V.V., Finch, A.J., Jr., Saylor, C.F., Blount, R.L., Pallmeyer, T.P., & Carek, D.J. (1987). Negative affectivity in children: A multitrait-multimethod investigation. Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology, 55, 245250.Google Scholar
Wolpe, J. (1969). The practice of behavior therapy. New York: Pergamon.Google Scholar