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

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