Type of Document	Dissertation
Author	Gerhardstein, Rebecca Rose
URN	etd-06012005-225838
Title	The Creation and Validation of an Early Identification Measure of Children's Social Dysfunction
Degree	Doctor of Philosophy
Department	Psychology, Department of
Advisory Committee	Advisor Name Title Janet Kistner Committee Chair Ashby Plant Committee Member Bryan Loney Committee Member Frances Prevatt Committee Member Thomas Joiner Committee Member
Keywords	Social Dysfunction Aggression Social Withdrawal Factor Analysis
Date of Defense	2005-08-20
Availability	unrestricted
Abstract This dissertation sought to create a new measure of social dysfunction designed to improve upon the shortcomings of previously existing clinical and research measures. Eight subscales were rationally and empirically derived based on a review of the literature. These scales include: Instrumental-Proactive, Hostile-Reactive and Relational Aggression, Passive-Anxious and Unsociable Social Withdrawal, Maladroit Behavior, Excessive Reassurance Seeking Behavior, and Odd-Eccentric Behavior. Following the creation of the new Social Dysfunction Scale (SDS), the reliability and validity of the measure were examined. The SDS was completed for 429 children between kindergarten and second grades. In addition, criterion measures for each of the eight social dysfunction subscales were collected for approximately half of these children. While each of the SDS subscales appeared to have good reliability (internal consistency), the construct and criterion-oriented validity proved to be difficult to establish. Using Confirmatory Factor Analysis (CFA) there was some evidence to support the construct validity of the eight subscale structure. There was also some evidence to support the convergent validity of each of the eight subscales. Unfortunately, the discriminant validity of almost every scale was poor. In addition, the author attempted to identify a hierarchical factor structure using Exploratory Factor Analysis (EFA) on half of the sample. Unfortunately, attempts to confirm this hierarchical structure, by running a CFA on the second half of the sample, were largely unsuccessful.
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