Early Identification of Behavioral and Emotional Problems in Youth: Universal Screening versus Teacher-Referral Identification

Abstract

Universal screening is one strategy to enhance the early identification of behavioral and emotional problems among youth. Although it appears to be effective, it is unclear if universal screening is more or less effective than current teacher referral practices. Thus, the purpose of this study was to compare the effectiveness of a teacher-rated, universal screener and typical teacher-referral methods in identifying youth at risk for emotional and behavioral problems. Results indicated that of the 24 students identified as at-risk by the universal screening measure, only 11 were previously identified through current teacher referral practices -highlighting the potential benefit of universal screening to enhance early identification. Furthermore, results indicated that academic achievement and student engagement outcomes were significantly correlated with at-risk status by identification method. The strengths and limitations of this study, as well as implications for practice, are discussed.

Development of the Spence Children’s Anxiety Scale - Short Version (SCAS-S)

“…in schools). Preliminary results have showed that such screening identifies children not identified using traditional teacher referral systems (Eklund et al 2009 ).…”

Mental Health Screening at School

“…Most identification is done through teacher-initiated referral for evaluation-an idiosyncratic method that allows many children with emotional and behavioral, especially internalizing, problems to fall through the cracks (Eklund et al 2009). Most identification is done through teacher-initiated referral for evaluation-an idiosyncratic method that allows many children with emotional and behavioral, especially internalizing, problems to fall through the cracks (Eklund et al 2009).…”

“…Although most teachers likely have the best interests of their students in mind when making a decision to refer for mental health services, teacher referrals tend to conflict with data-driven approaches to identifying students' potential behavioral and emotional needs using standardized assessment instruments Eklund et al 2009); teacher reports tend to identify externalizing behaviors better than internalizing or emotional needs. Additionally, teacher referrals for services have been linked to the disproportionality of particular groups being referred for and receiving services.…”

Measurement Invariance of a Direct Behavior Rating Multi Item Scale across Occasions

“…School-based behavioral interventions have been shown to be an efficient way to prevent and decrease the occurrence of externalizing and internalizing behavior problems (e.g., Durlak et al 2011;Fabiano and Pyle 2018;Waschbusch et al 2018). However, the effectiveness of these intervention methods increases when intervention planning, implementation, and evaluation are closely linked to school-based assessment practices (Eklund et al 2009). Two assessment methods have been shown to lead to more effective interventions (Volpe et al 2010): universal behavior screening and behavior progress monitoring.…”