Multi-informant Assessment of Internalizing Concerns: Rater Concordance and Implications for Decision-Making

Abstract

Rising rates of mental health challenges among youths have become a significant concern following the COVID 19 pandemic. Although strong evidence supports the implementation of universal screening as a preventative approach to address unmet mental health concerns, the research is less clear surrounding the use of such data in decision-making processes when significant discrepancies between informants (e.g., students and teachers) exist. The purpose of the study was twofold. First, the study aimed to determine the degree of rater concordance between teachers and students on students’ internalizing concerns. The second objective was to determine whether concordance on internalizing behaviors differs across ages/grades and if this differentially impacts distal (i.e., academic) outcomes. Results indicated that teachers and students demonstrated limited agreement on ratings of internalizing behaviors. However, when students and teachers agreed, higher and more positive emotional behaviors were linked to higher reading/math performance. Furthermore, patterns of informant dis/agreement and relationships between internalizing concerns and academic outcomes were similar across grade levels. Implications and areas for future research are discussed.

Can an Universal School-Based Social Emotional Learning Program Reduce Adolescents’ Social Withdrawal and Social Anxiety?

“…Currently, the program is classroom-based, implemented during the first semester of the school year by a trained psychologist following a manual, and composed of 13 weekly sessions (Marchante & Coelho, 2021 ). The program is assessed through multi-informants, as recommended by several authors (Achenbach et al, 2008 ; von der Embse et al, 2023 ), because different informants see children in different contexts, interact differently with them, and have different mindsets for judging and reporting (Achenbach et al, 2008 ).…”