{"id":{"repo_id":"wku-diss","oai_identifier":"oai:digitalcommons.wku.edu:theses-1159"},"canonical_url":"https://search.dev.ndltd.org/etd/wku-diss/oai:digitalcommons.wku.edu:theses-1159","repository":{"repo_id":"wku-diss","name":"Western Kentucky University","base_url":"https://digitalcommons.wku.edu/do/oai/"},"display":{"title":"Diagnostic Decision-Making: How Much Do Behavior Rating Scales Influence School Psychologists?","abstract":"Behavior rating scales are commonly used as part of the evaluation process throughout the field of psychology. Behavior rating scales help assess social, emotional, and/or behavioral problems in children, adolescents, and teens. Behavior rating scales indicate the severity of problem behaviors compared to a normative sample. Four scenarios were developed that varied scores on a behavior rating scale and the amount of other information that supported a specific diagnosis. A rating of the likelihood of a diagnosis was requested to see how much influence behavior rating scale scores have on diagnostic decision-making. Each of the four scenarios was sent to 200 school psychologists across the country for a total of 800 potential participants. An overall response rate of 37.5% was achieved. The findings revealed that behavior rating scales do have some influence on school psychologists’ diagnostic decision-making. However, school psychologists put more weight on other supporting information, such as classroom observations and teacher and parent reports, than on behavior rating scale scores when making a diagnostic decision.","abstract_html":"Behavior rating scales are commonly used as part of the evaluation process throughout the field of psychology. Behavior rating scales help assess social, emotional, and/or behavioral problems in children, adolescents, and teens. Behavior rating scales indicate the severity of problem behaviors compared to a normative sample. Four scenarios were developed that varied scores on a behavior rating scale and the amount of other information that supported a specific diagnosis. A rating of the likelihood of a diagnosis was requested to see how much influence behavior rating scale scores have on diagnostic decision-making. Each of the four scenarios was sent to 200 school psychologists across the country for a total of 800 potential participants. An overall response rate of 37.5% was achieved. The findings revealed that behavior rating scales do have some influence on school psychologists’ diagnostic decision-making. However, school psychologists put more weight on other supporting information, such as classroom observations and teacher and parent reports, than on behavior rating scale scores when making a diagnostic decision.","abstract_has_math":false,"creators":["Higgins, Lesley Ann"],"institution":null,"degree_name":"Specialist in Education","degree_level":null,"degree_discipline":"Department of Psychology","degree_department":null,"school":null,"contributors":["Dr. Carl Myers (Director), Dr. Elizabeth Jones, Dr. Reagan Brown"],"advisors":[],"committee_chairs":[],"committee_members":[],"year":2010,"date_issued":"2010-05-01T07:00:00Z","date_published":"2010-05-01T07:00:00Z","updated_at":"2026-07-24T06:07:10Z","subjects":["school psychology","educational tests and assessments","behavioral assessment of children","Child Psychology","Educational Assessment, Evaluation, and Research","Educational Psychology"],"languages":[],"rights":[],"rights_urls":[],"identifier_entries":[]},"links":{"outbound_url":"https://digitalcommons.wku.edu/theses/157","outbound_label":"Repository record","outbound_source":"dc:identifier"},"metadata_groups":[{"id":"people","label":"People","entries":[{"key":"dc:contributor","label":"Contributor","values":["Dr. Carl Myers (Director), Dr. Elizabeth Jones, Dr. Reagan Brown"]},{"key":"dc:creator","label":"Author","values":["Higgins, Lesley Ann"]}]},{"id":"academic_context","label":"Academic Context","entries":[{"key":"dc:type","label":"Dc Type","values":["Thesis"]},{"key":"thesis:degree_discipline","label":"Discipline","values":["Department of Psychology"]},{"key":"thesis:degree_name","label":"Degree Name","values":["Specialist in Education"]}]},{"id":"subjects_keywords","label":"Subjects and Keywords","entries":[{"key":"dc:subject","label":"Dc Subject","values":["school psychology","educational tests and assessments","behavioral assessment of children","Child Psychology","Educational Assessment, Evaluation, and Research","Educational Psychology"]}]},{"id":"identifiers","label":"Identifiers","entries":[{"key":"dc:identifier","label":"Identifier","values":["https://digitalcommons.wku.edu/theses/157"]}]},{"id":"additional","label":"Additional Metadata","entries":[{"key":"dc:description.abstract","label":"Abstract","values":["Behavior rating scales are commonly used as part of the evaluation process throughout the field of psychology. Behavior rating scales help assess social, emotional, and/or behavioral problems in children, adolescents, and teens. Behavior rating scales indicate the severity of problem behaviors compared to a normative sample. Four scenarios were developed that varied scores on a behavior rating scale and the amount of other information that supported a specific diagnosis. A rating of the likelihood of a diagnosis was requested to see how much influence behavior rating scale scores have on diagnostic decision-making. Each of the four scenarios was sent to 200 school psychologists across the country for a total of 800 potential participants. An overall response rate of 37.5% was achieved. The findings revealed that behavior rating scales do have some influence on school psychologists’ diagnostic decision-making. However, school psychologists put more weight on other supporting information, such as classroom observations and teacher and parent reports, than on behavior rating scale scores when making a diagnostic decision."]},{"key":"dc:title","label":"Title","values":["Diagnostic Decision-Making: How Much Do Behavior Rating Scales Influence School Psychologists?"]}]}],"canonical_facts":{"dc:contributor":["Dr. Carl Myers (Director), Dr. Elizabeth Jones, Dr. Reagan Brown"],"dc:creator":["Higgins, Lesley Ann"],"dc:description.abstract":["Behavior rating scales are commonly used as part of the evaluation process throughout the field of psychology. Behavior rating scales help assess social, emotional, and/or behavioral problems in children, adolescents, and teens. Behavior rating scales indicate the severity of problem behaviors compared to a normative sample. Four scenarios were developed that varied scores on a behavior rating scale and the amount of other information that supported a specific diagnosis. A rating of the likelihood of a diagnosis was requested to see how much influence behavior rating scale scores have on diagnostic decision-making. Each of the four scenarios was sent to 200 school psychologists across the country for a total of 800 potential participants. An overall response rate of 37.5% was achieved. The findings revealed that behavior rating scales do have some influence on school psychologists’ diagnostic decision-making. However, school psychologists put more weight on other supporting information, such as classroom observations and teacher and parent reports, than on behavior rating scale scores when making a diagnostic decision."],"dc:identifier":["https://digitalcommons.wku.edu/theses/157"],"dc:subject":["school psychology","educational tests and assessments","behavioral assessment of children","Child Psychology","Educational Assessment, Evaluation, and Research","Educational Psychology"],"dc:title":["Diagnostic Decision-Making: How Much Do Behavior Rating Scales Influence School Psychologists?"],"dc:type":["Thesis"],"thesis:degree_discipline":["Department of Psychology"],"thesis:degree_name":["Specialist in Education"]},"updated_at":"2026-07-24T06:07:10Z"}