The Conners Teacher Rating Scale (CTRS) has been utilized in hundreds of research studies around the world for over 20 years. In addition, the CTRS is one of the most common instruments used to assess behavior problems in clinical settings. As a result of its popularity in the research and clinical domains, a large amount of psychometric data (i.e. reliability, validity) has accumulated on the CTRS. Most studies that have examined the validity of the CTRS, however, do so by comparing it with other teacher rating scales such as the Child Behavior Profile or the Behavior Problems Checklist (e.g. Edelbrock, Greenbaum, & Conover, 1985; Campbell & Steinert, 1978). Fewer studies have compared the CTRS with observations of children’s behavior. Those studies that have directly compared CTRS scores and children’s behavior appear (e.g. Kivlahan, Siegel, & Ullman, 1982) limited given their focus on classroom behaviors of children from middle income homes. Given that the CTRS is deemed useful for children as young as three years, as well as those from minority backgrounds, it seems necessary to examine critically the validity of the CTRS within these two domains.

The present study addresses these issues by examining the relation between the three scales (Conduct Problem, Hyperactivity, Inattentive-passive) of the Conners Teacher Rating Scale, 28-item version (CTRS-28) and behavioral observations of preschoolers from predominately (e.g. 95%) minority backgrounds. Approximately 100 three- and four-year old children, predominately from lower-income families, were videotaped during outdoor free play at Head Start preschool centers. Preschoolers were taped for a one-minute interval an average of three mornings or afternoons each week for three consecutive weeks, for a total of 16 minutes. These tapes are currently being coded on a number of dimensions, including category of social involvement with peers (e.g. parallel, solitary, onlooker), activity level, affect, and physical aggression. Teachers were asked to complete the CTRS during the observation period. This study specifically addresses the ability of the Conduct Problem, Hyperactivity, and Inattentive-passive scales of the CTRS-28 to predict observations of children’s outdoor free play behavior. Overlap between the CTRS-28 and behavioral observations will be examined using simple correlation and multiple regression, controlling for age and sex within each analysis. Analyses will be run for preschoolers as a whole, as well as separately for each gender.

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