Beck Youth Inventories

Identifying Information 

Beck et al. research on the usefulness of the BYI on examining the emotional and social reactions among individuals. The manual was used to provide information about the validity of the data. The article is affiliated to several publishing websites including harcourtassessment.com. The manual was published in 2005. The additional source includes the article written by Dole and the colleagues published in 2012. The paper contains an analysis of the fifteen MMY which was released in 2003. 

Assessment Areas and Purpose 

BYI is a collection of norm-related diagnostic levels that focus on examining children and young people. The researcher assessed the data of children between 7 to 18 years. The study contained data of adults above 18 years. The purpose of administering the instrument was to examine the stress, anxiety, anger, self-concept, and intrusive behavior levels (Dole et al., 2012). The scholar established that psychologists take five to ten minutes to incorporate each inventory. Therefore, the whole administration process can take 30 to 60 minutes to ensure all the elements are measured (Plake et al., 2003). The publisher indicates that every inventory contains 20 questions with a rating of four levels that are between zero to three. Thus, the total scores range from 0 to 60 (Plake et al., 2003). Consequently, the ratings are converted to T-tests, scale likeness, cumulative percentages, and descriptive ranges. 

Costs of Materials 

The publisher claims that the BYI is a b-level examination tool. The BYI has several incorporation methods including on-screen, remote on screen, and manual. However, the publishers attest that the examinee should purchase a Q-global document for $ 6. The report contains the implementation process, scores, and statements. Every sub-section in the report needs one utility. Therefore, if the examinee needs five sub-sections, there must be five utilities. Also, the participant must have a subscription of paper forms. It is essential in creating reports delivered in paper forms. The subscription expenses amount to $ 47 per year. The examinee can have BYI digital manual which costs $ 156. The total costs for the BYI tool is $ 475 which consists of the manual and 25 inventory handouts. 

Implementation and Scoring 

The BYI standard provides that the paraprofessionals are responsible for conducting implementation and scoring activities. However, the qualified clinicians must assess the performance of the assistants to ensure they evaluate and interpret the processes accordingly. The examination is easy to incorporate and score. Besides, the test is difficult to analyze regarding the therapist’s experience and interpretation requirements in the instructions. Every inventory section comprises 20 questions regarding thoughts, emotions, and conduct. The queries focus on the social and emotional challenges among children and adults. The examiner administers the matters orally. 

Assessment Scales 

The tool contains five scales which include stress, anxiety, anger, aggressive conduct, and opinions. The examiner does not compute the global score regarding a person’s performance. The T-score facilitate the measurement of the distress levels that a person exhibits. Clinicians compare the T-results with the normative scores to establish a person’s relative inclination from the average of the standard group. It is assumed that the cumulative rates are equal to the percentiles. However, the aggregate rates are derived from the T-results, and the clinicians use them to identify the differences between the normative and individuals results. 

Documentation 

The BYI standard has particular processes for administering, scoring, and an analysis part with case study illustrations. Also, the manual contains explanations for enhancing the BYI tool, reliability, measures, normative examples, and validity. 

Normative Tests 

The norms of the BYI were designed regarding two assessments from the population and a medical examination. The first study comprised 800 children between the ages of 7 to 14 years from the United States. The researcher considered population features such as race, sex, and education levels of the parents (Beck et al., 2005). The second research contained 200 youths between the ages of 15 to 18 years. The researchers used similar demographic data to select the participants. The medical sample included 178 teens between the ages of 15 to 18 years (Dole et al., 2012). The scholars chose the participants regarding their previous medical history on having anxiety, stress, behavioral challenges, bipolar disorder, or general mental problems. 

Reliability 

The researchers demonstrate three kinds of reliability after gathering data from the normative illustrations. The article has a high internal consistency. The scholars assessed the flexibility of the BYI that exhibited a Cronbach coefficient. The ranges for children between seven to ten years were .86 to .91. The results for children between 11 to 14 years were .86 and .92. Also, the ranges for the examinee between 15 to 18 years were .91 and .96 (Dole et al., 2012). The scholars re-tested the BYI using a sample of 105 individuals in the subsequent week. The researchers retested the sample data to get correlation coefficients. The results for children between the ages of 7 to 10 years were .74 and .90. Also, the outcomes of children between the ages of 11 to 14 were .84 and .93. The retest results of adolescents between 15 to 18 years were .83 and .93 (Beck et al., 2005). The retest outcomes for male and females were equivalent. The manual describes the extent to which the examination error influences a person’s score. The mean standard error ranges from 2.12 and 3.37regarding the scale and age group. 

Validity 

The BYI standard contains different validation studies that assess concurrent reliability. The first research focused on the comparison between BYI and CDI (Children Depression Inventory). The sample of the study consisted of 128 children between the ages of 7 to 14 years. The manual demonstrates that the BYI depression range and CDI portrayed similar stress outcomes of .72. The researchers used a sample of 26 adolescents between the ages of 15 to 18 years, and the scores were .67 (Dole et al., 2012). The second research focused on the relationship between BYI for anxiety and RCMAS. The researchers had two samples which contained 192 children with the age of 7 and 14 years and 35 youths. The outcomes of the two studies were .70 and .64 respectively (Dole et al., 2012). The third research involved a comparison of BYI behavioral examination and CASS. The sample of the study was 108 kids between the ages of 12 to 14 years and 89 youths. The results for the children were .69 but for adolescents were .76 (Beck et al., 2005). The fourth study focused on the assessment of self-concept using the BYI and PHCSCS tools. The outcome for the sample of 105 kids was .61 for the two instruments. The second population of 49 adolescents yielded a coefficient of .77 for the two tools (Dole et al., 2012). The results indicated variations in different elements o the BYI. 

The researchers illustrate that the tool is useful in establishing group variations. The instrument can distinguish the high and low distress levels in the population. The multivariate examinations indicated that there is a significant distinction between children with special and regular needs (Beck et al., 2005). However, the results of various elements such as self-concept, anger, and disruptive conduct portrayed unique effects. Also, the BYI standard consists of a differential examination that indicates the instrument’s potential to distinguish clinical teams (Beck et al., 2005). The manual does not contain sensitivity and precision data. 

References  

Beck, J. S., Beck, A. T., Jolly, J. B., & Steer, R. A. (2005).  Beck youth inventories for children and adolescents: Manual . San Antonio, TX: PsychCorp. 

Dolle, K., Schulte-Körne, G., O'Leary, A. M., von Hofacker, N., Izat, Y., & Allgaier, A. K. (2012). The Beck depression inventory-II in adolescent mental health patients: cut-off scores for detecting depression and rating severity.  Psychiatry Research ,  200 (2-3), 843-848. Retrieved from https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0165178112002600 

Plake, S., B., Impara, J., C., & Spies, R., A. (2003). The fifteenth measurement yearbook. Lincoln, NE: Buros Center for Testing.