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01-03-2006 | Research Article

Validity of Teacher Ratings in Selecting Influential Aggressive Adolescents for a Targeted Preventive Intervention

Authors: David B. Henry, Shari Miller-Johnson, Thomas R. Simon, Michael E. Schoeny, The Multi-site Violence Prevention Project

Published in: Prevention Science | Issue 1/2006

Abstract

This study describes a method for using teacher nominations and ratings to identify socially influential, aggressive middle school students for participation in a targeted violence prevention intervention. The teacher nomination method is compared with peer nominations of aggression and influence to obtain validity evidence. Participants were urban, predominantly African American and Latino sixth-grade students who were involved in a pilot study for a large multi-site violence prevention project. Convergent validity was suggested by the high correlation of teacher ratings of peer influence and peer nominations of social influence. The teacher ratings of influence demonstrated acceptable sensitivity and specificity when predicting peer nominations of influence among the most aggressive children. Results are discussed in terms of the application of teacher nominations and ratings in large trials and full implementation of targeted prevention programs.

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Title: Validity of Teacher Ratings in Selecting Influential Aggressive Adolescents for a Targeted Preventive Intervention
Authors: David B. Henry
Shari Miller-Johnson
Thomas R. Simon
Michael E. Schoeny
The Multi-site Violence Prevention Project
Publication date: 01-03-2006
Publisher: Springer US
Published in: Prevention Science / Issue 1/2006
Print ISSN: 1389-4986
Electronic ISSN: 1573-6695
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11121-005-0004-3

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Validity of Teacher Ratings in Selecting Influential Aggressive Adolescents for a Targeted Preventive Intervention

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