Differentiating Preschoolers With(Out) Social-Emotional and Behavioral Problems: Do We Have a Useful Tool?

The early identification of social-emotional and behavioral problems of preschool children has become an important goal in research and clinical practice. A growing number of studies have been published in this field; however, most focus on behavior problems, or on social skills, but few on both. The present study aims to test the validity of the Portuguese version of the Preschool and Kindergarten Behavior Scales--Second Edition (PKBS-2) in differentiating two groups of preschoolers regarding their social skills and behavior problems: 41 children at risk for disruptive behavior (BP group) and 41 selected from the PKBS-2 normative sample (comparison group). Each child was rated with the PKBS-2 by parents and teachers. Results showed that children in the BP group were rated by their parents as having fewer social skills and more behavior problems than the comparison group (p < 0.01, for the majority of the PKBS-2 scores). A similar pattern was found for teachers' ratings. The discriminant functional analysis highlighted the Social Cooperation and the Externalizing Problem Behavior subscales as most accurate in differentiating the two groups. The usefulness of the PKBS-2 Portuguese version as a valid assessment tool available for practice and research with preschoolers was supported.