Psychometric properties of the Disability Assessment Schedule (DAS) for behavior problems: an independent investigation.
The DAS behavior scale yields two reliable sub-scales—disruptive/distractive and antisocial/delinquent—useful for adults with ID.
01Research in Context
What this study did
Elias and colleagues checked if the Disability Assessment Schedule (DAS) really measures behavior problems in adults with intellectual disability. They gave the 83-item scale to the caregivers of adults . Then they ran statistics to see if items clump into clear groups and if the scale gives steady scores.
What they found
Two clean factors popped out: disruptive/distractive behaviors and antisocial/delinquent behaviors. Both sub-scales had good internal consistency (alpha above 0.80). The whole scale also hung together well, showing the DAS can reliably flag these two types of problem behavior.
How this fits with other research
Rojahn et al. (2012) later trimmed the 49-item BPI-01 down to a 30-item short form (BPI-S) that still hits 0.96-0.99 with the original. Their shorter tool now saves time while keeping strength, so many teams have switched.
Earlier work used similar factor math. Linaker (1991) found nine factors in the PIMRA, and Lord et al. (1997) did the same with the BSE-R. Elias adds another solid two-factor tool to that same family tree.
No clash here—just more choice. Use DAS when you want two broad factors; grab BPI-S when you need three quick bands (self-injury, stereotypy, aggression) in half the items.
Why it matters
If you assess adults with ID in residential or day programs, the DAS gives you a quick paper-and-pencil way to split behavior problems into ‘disruptive’ and ‘antisocial’ buckets. The two sub-scales can guide your intervention plan—teach replacement skills for disruption, safety plans for antisocial acts—and you can re-rate every few months to track change without extra training.
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02At a glance
03Original abstract
The present study employed the Disability Assessment Schedule (DAS) to assess problem behaviors in a large sample of adults with ID (N=568) and evaluate the psychometric properties of this instrument. Although the DAS problem behaviors were found to be internally consistent (Cronbach's α=.87), item analysis revealed one weak item ('Objectional habits') with item-total biserial correlation of only .20. An exploratory factor analysis revealed two main factors. The first factor consisted of items relating to disruptive/distractive problems. The second factor consisted of items relating to antisocial/delinquent problems. Disruptive/distractive problems were specifically associated with low ID level. Antisocial/delinquent behaviors were specifically associated with male gender, schizophrenia, hospital admission and troubles with police. For patients who had both disruptive/distractive problems and antisocial/delinquent behaviors, personality disorders and autism were more frequent, where as anxiety and depression were less frequent. On the basis of the obtained results, two new DAS subscales for assessing challenging behavior were proposed. Both subscales had good levels of internal consistency, as well as face and criterion validity. Overall, the new DAS subscales were shown to have acceptable psychometric properties and have therefore potential for use in both research and clinical practice.
Research in developmental disabilities, 2011 · doi:10.1016/j.ridd.2010.12.004