The Brief Infant-Toddler Social and Emotional Assessment: Screening for Social-Emotional Problems and Delays in Competence

Objective To examine the reliability and validity of the 42-item Brief Infant-Toddler Social and Emotional Assessment (BITSEA), a screener for social-emotional/behavioral problems and delays in competence. Method Parents in a representative healthy birth cohort of 1,237 infants aged 12 to 36 months...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Journal of pediatric psychology 2004-03, Vol.29 (2), p.143-155
Main Authors: Briggs-Gowan, Margaret J., Carter, Alice S., Irwin, Julia R., Wachtel, Karen, Cicchetti, Domenic V.
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
behavior problems
Biological and medical sciences
Child Behavior Disorders - diagnosis
Child Development Disorders, Pervasive - diagnosis
Child, Preschool
competence
Connecticut
Female
Humans
Infant
infant-toddler
Male
Medical sciences
Mental Disorders - diagnosis
Psychological Tests
Psychology. Psychoanalysis. Psychiatry
Psychometrics. Diagnostic aid systems
Psychopathology. Psychiatry
Reproducibility of Results
screener
Sensitivity and Specificity
social-emotional problems
Techniques and methods
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Summary:Objective To examine the reliability and validity of the 42-item Brief Infant-Toddler Social and Emotional Assessment (BITSEA), a screener for social-emotional/behavioral problems and delays in competence. Method Parents in a representative healthy birth cohort of 1,237 infants aged 12 to 36 months completed the Infant-Toddler Social and Emotional Assessment (ITSEA)/BITSEA, the Child Behavior Checklist (CBCL)/1.5-5, the MacArthur Communication Developmental Inventory vocabulary checklist, and worry questions. In a subsample, independent evaluators rated infant-toddler behavior. Results Test-retest reliability was excellent and interrater agreement (mother/father and parent/child-care provider) was good. Supporting validity, BITSEA problems correlated with concurrent evaluator problem ratings and CBCL/1.5-5 scores and also predicted CBCL/1.5-5 and ITSEA problem scores one year later. BITSEA measures of competence correlated with concurrent observed competence and predicted later ITSEA competence measures. Supporting discriminant validity, only 23% of high BITSEA problem scorers had delayed vocabulary. Moreover, the combined BITSEA problem/competence cutpoints identified 85% of subclinical/clinical CBCL/1.5-5 scores, while maintaining acceptable specificity (75%). Conclusions Findings support the BITSEA as a screener for social-emotional/behavioral problems and delays in social-emotional competence.
ISSN:0146-8693
1465-735X
DOI:10.1093/jpepsy/jsh017