Assessment & Research

Criterion-related validity of the PDD Behavior Inventory.

Cohen (2003) · Journal of autism and developmental disorders 2003
★ The Verdict

The PDDBI is a valid parent-teacher rating scale ready to track both problem and adaptive behavior changes in kids with autism.

✓ Read this if BCBAs running treatment evaluations for autistic clients in clinic or school settings.
✗ Skip if Practitioners who only need brief autism screening, not ongoing progress data.

01Research in Context

01

What this study did

Cohen (2003) checked if the PDD Behavior Inventory (PDDBI) really measures what it claims. Parents and teachers filled out the rating scale for children with autism. The team compared PDDBI scores to well-known autism and behavior checklists.

02

What they found

The PDDBI lined up well with the older gold-standard scales. High scores on PDDBI problem domains matched high scores on other problem checklists. The adaptive domain scores also moved in step with adaptive behavior measures.

03

How this fits with other research

Duvekot et al. (2015) later found the same pattern with the Social Responsiveness Scale (SRS). Parent plus teacher ratings beat parent-only data when checked against ADOS scores.

Santos et al. (2014) echoed the theme in Portuguese: their Adaptive Behavior Scale also showed solid validity for kids with intellectual disability.

Gaily et al. (1998) did the same thing earlier for residential quality, proving this multi-informant, multi-scale method keeps repeating across tools and settings.

04

Why it matters

You now have a quick, dual-informant tool that tracks both problem and adaptive behaviors during treatment. Start the PDDBI at baseline, then re-give it every six months. Use parent and teacher forms together to spot real change, not just rater drift.

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Add the PDDBI parent and teacher forms to your intake packet and schedule re-rating every six months.

02At a glance

Intervention
not applicable
Design
other
Population
autism spectrum disorder
Finding
positive

03Original abstract

The PDD Behavior Inventory (PDDBI) is a rating scale filled out by parents and teachers that is designed to assess response to intervention in children with PDD. It consists of subscales that measure both maladaptive and adaptive behaviors and also provides a summary "Autism Score" reflective of the severity of the condition. The scale has been shown to have very good internal consistency as well as developmental and construct validity. In this study, the PDDBI's criterion-related validity was assessed. Correlations with the Childhood Autism Rating Scale and the Autism Diagnostic Interview-Revised were good. Selected maladaptive scales from the PDDBI correlated well with comparable factors of the Nisonger Child Behavior Rating Form. The adaptive sections of the PDDBI correlated highly with the Griffiths Mental Development Scales and with the Vineland Adaptive Behavior Scales. These results confirm the validity of the PDDBI and suggest that the scale will have value in assessing treatment-related changes in maladaptive and adaptive behaviors associated with PDD.

Journal of autism and developmental disorders, 2003 · doi:10.1023/a:1022278420716