Differences in Stength Assessment Scores for Youth with and without ED across the Youth and Parent Rating Scales of the BERS-2

The authors' studies evaluated the discriminative ability of the youth & parent forms of the Behavioral & Emotional Rating ScaleSecond Edition (BERS-2; Epstein, 2004). The BERS-2 is a standardized rating scale system that assesses the emotional & behavioral strengths of children & youth. Separate studies compared the perceptions of youth & parents of youth with emotional disturbance (ED) to youth & parents of youth without ED. Participants in Study 1 included 71 children verified with ED according to state special education guidelines & 386 children without ED. Participants in Study 2 included 82 parents of children with ED & 411 parents of children without ED. Results of Study 1 indicated statistically significant differences in the scores of youth with & without ED on four of five BERS-2 Youth Rating Scale subscales & the overall strength index. Results of Study 2 indicated statistically significant differences in the scores of parents of youth with & without ED on all five of BERS-2 Parent Rating Scale sub-scales & the strength index. The limitations, future research, & implications of the studies are discussed. 2 Tables, 20 References. Adapted from the source document.