Use & Administration of Forms

Qualifications for Administration
Our forms are designed to be self-explanatory. No special qualifications are needed for administering these forms beyond the tact and sensitivity that are necessary in all dealings with parents, teachers, children, and other clients. The forms require no more than a 5th grade reading level. They can also be administered orally to parents or youths whose reading skills are poor. When someone is asked to complete a form, it is helpful to explain that the aim is to obtain a picture of the subject’s behavior as that respondent sees it. Any limits on confidentiality and the intended use of the data should also be explained to the respondent.

Qualifications for Scoring
Each of our forms can be scored either by hand or by computer. Hand-scored profiles and computer programs are available for each of our forms. See our current catalog for more information. (Please note that the on-line version of our catalog requires Adobe Acrobat Reader. If you do not have Adobe Acrobat Reader you may download it for free by clicking on the button below.)

Prior to scoring, each form should be checked by a person who has been trained to follow our instructions carefully, including how to handle items that request descriptions of behavior. This quality control step is essential whether the scoring is to be done by hand, by scanner, or by key entry into a computer. The forms can be hand-scored by following our instructions and using our templates. Alternatively, our computer scoring programs provide instructions that can be followed by users familiar with basic computer procedures.

The proper clinical and research use and interpretation of our materials requires knowledge of the theory and methodology of standardized assessment procedures, as well as supervised training in working with parents, children, and other clients. The training required may differ according to the ways in which the data are to be used. Graduate training of at least the Master's degree level would ordinarily be expected. However, no amount of prior training can substitute for professional maturity and a thorough familiarity with the procedures and cautions presented in our Manuals. Please see those Manuals for additional specific information.

We require all purchasers of our materials to furnish evidence of their qualifications by completing a User Qualifications Form.

Additional Qualifications for use of the SCICA
In addition to knowledge of the theory and methodology of standardized assessment, administration of the SCICA requires supervised training in clinical interviewing of children and adolescents. Our standards are consistent with the Standards for Educational and Psychological Testing (1999) endorsed by the American Educational Research Association, American Psychological Association, and National Council on Measurement in Education. Users are expected to adhere to the ethical principles of organizations such as the American Psychological Association, National Association of School Psychologists, and American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry.

We require all purchasers of the SCICA to furnish evidence of their qualifications by completing a User Qualifications Form.

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Q: May I make copies of the ASEBA forms?

No. The CBCL, YSR, TRF, C-TRF, DOF, SCICA, TOF, ASR, ABCL, OAS, and OABCL, their scoring profiles, templates, computer software, manuals, and related books are all copyrighted. The copyrights provide legal protection against unauthorized reproduction and alteration of these materials. Violation of the copyrights is punishable by fines up to $100,000, plus civil penalties.

Beside being a violation of the copyright law, altered versions of the rating forms are apt to produce invalid data, because they would differ from the forms with which the normative, validity, and reliability data were obtained. Data obtained with altered forms would also lack comparability with the many studies that have used the standard forms.

Although we are occasionally asked for permission to reprint or alter our forms, we have learned that the disadvantages greatly outweigh the advantages for all concerned. Even when the alterations involve only changes of typestyle or format, these may have unanticipated effects on the respondents. Furthermore, changes that are inadvertent or seem insignificant can have unfortunate effects. As an example, in the Ontario Child Health Study of several thousand children, the definition of the 0 score for CBCL problem items was changed from Not true to Never or not true. This slight change was not noticed by the researchers until after the data had been collected and analyzed, yielding considerably higher problem scores for children in Ontario than in the U.S. When the change in wording was noticed, an experimental comparison was made between responses by Ontario parents receiving the original CBCL wording and parents receiving the altered wording that included the word never. This comparison showed that inclusion of the word never produced significantly fewer scores of 0 and significantly higher scores overall (Woodward et al., 1989, J. Child Psychology & Psychiatry, 30, 919-924).

Another problem with copied or altered forms is that others may use or copy them without realizing that they are not the standard forms and that they are violating copyright law, as well as obtaining invalid data.

Because we believe that the strengths of standardized procedures are lost when they are destandardized, we do not generally grant permission to copy or alter our forms. If you feel that you have an exceptionally compelling reason for requesting permission to reproduce or alter our forms, please complete an application for a license.