A German Language Universal Screener for Externalizing and Internalizing Problems

Volpe, R J¹, Yeung, T S¹, Casale, G², Krull, J², Hennemann, T^2
1Northeastern University, Boston, USA
²University of Cologne, Cologne, Germany

 

Submission type

Oral only

Scheduled

Room 118, 12-07-2019, 09:00 - 10:30

Keywords

screening, behavioral assessment, externalizing problems, internalizing problems, reliability, German

Summary

Universal screening is considered a preventive and proactive practice to identify at-risk students early and guide follow-up interventions. Previous studies have supported the use of the English, German, and Chinese versions of the externalizing items of the Integrated Screening and Intervention System Teacher Rating Form (ITRF) as a universal screener. This paper will examine the factor structures and internal consistency of the existing externalizing items and newly developed internalizing items of the ITRF in Germany.

The 24 externalizing and 16 internalizing items of the ITRF were completed by 139 classroom teachers for 2,566 students from 10 primary schools, 3 secondary schools, and 3 special schools from a school district in Western Germany. Data were analyzed with exploratory factor analysis and Cronbach’s alphas. Results support the same two-factor structure for the externalizing items as identified in the previous study on the German ITRF – Oppositional/Disruptive and Academic Productivity/Disorganization. A two-factor structure labeled Socially Withdrawn and Anxious/Depressed was identified for the internalizing items. Both externalizing items (α = .92) and internalizing items (α = .92) demonstrated adequate internal consistency. These findings provide preliminary support for the German language version of the ITRF as a universal screener for both externalizing and internalizing problems.

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