Psychometric Evaluation of the interRAI Child and Youth Mental Health Disruptive/Aggression Behaviour Scale (DABS) and Hyperactive/Distraction Scale (HDS)

The present study aims to validate the interRAI Child and Youth Mental Health (interRAI ChYMH), Disruptive/Aggression Behaviour Scale (DABS) and Hyperactive/Distraction Scale (HDS). Data were collected from children/youth aged 4–18 ( N = 3464) across 39 mental health agencies in Ontario, Canada. Unrestricted factor analysis using polychoric correlation matrices and Samejima’s graded item response theory (IRT) parameterizations were conducted for both measures. Scores on the HDS and DABS were also compared amongst children/youth diagnosed with attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) and disruptive behaviour disorder (DBD) respectively using DSM-IV criteria. Results from the factor analysis and IRT analysis demonstrated good measurement properties. Using a receiver operating characteristics curve, the area under the curve (AUC) for the HDS and DABS is 0.79 and 0.75 for a diagnosis of ADHD and DBD respectively. Overall, converging results suggest that the interRAI HDS and DABS may serve as effective measures that detect externalizing mental health indicators.