Titel:
SEDAL: Scale for the assessment of the Social-Emotional Developmental Age Level
- a learning disability,
- a (suspected) delay in psychological development,
- a developmental disability or psychiatric problems,
- a sensory and/or communicative disability,
- educational issues and/or tuition problems within regular or special education.
Within the domain Social Development there are nine dimensions: a. initiating contact, b. social independence, c. moral development, d. impulse control, e. self-awareness in social contexts, f. social assessment skills, g. social skills, h. relating to authority, i. social aspects of sexual development.
Within the domain Emotional Development there are seven dimensions: a. self image, b. emotional independence, c. sense of reality, d. moral development, e. fears, f. impulse control, g. regulation of emotions.
Each domain contains 76 items, which are classified according to age.
Items characteristic for a certain age range belong to so-called ‘age categories’.
The assessor needs to have thorough knowledge of the behaviour of the client, be capable of professional distance, and have a reasonable knowledge of ‘normal’ child development. Preferably, the scale should be applied by a behaviour specialist (e.g. psychologist), in consultation with a professional (daily or personal) carer.
The social-emotional developmental age level can be assessed by scoring ‘characteristic’ or ‘not characteristic’ on all 76 items in both domains, followed by applying a simple mathematical formula.
If required, the SEDAL can also be used for additional qualitative analysis of the behaviour covered by all dimensions. These data can be generated by a computer program.
Interrater reliability and test-retest reliability were investigated in research groups of 59 and 25 clients respectively. Expressed in Cohen’s kappa, the agreement on item level is sufficient to excellent in 90-94% of the items. Pearson correlations between the two ratings per person range from .88 to .95 (interrater reliability) and from .89 to .97. (test-retest reliability).
Validity research results in high coefficients for concurrent validity with the Scale for Social Self Care for people with intellectual disabilities [Sociale Redzaamheidsschaal Zwakzinnigen] (Kraijer, Kema & De Bildt, 2004), the Vineland-Z (De Bildt & Kraijer, 2003) and several measures of intelligence: Pearson correlations range from 0.60 to 0.80. Investigating discriminating validity, the SEDAL scale measures – as expected – different concepts than the Challenging Behaviour Scale for people with Intellectual disabilities [Storend Gedragsschaal voor Zwakzinnigen] (Kraijer en Kema, 1994): the Pearson correlation between the two scales is 0.05.
The computer report distinguishes between three different levels.
The Domain level calculates the three developmental age levels: the social-emotional, the social and the emotional developmental age level. Sorted by age category, the items are related to the developmental age levels.
Dimensional level. Sorted by age category and dimension, the items are related to the social or emotional developmental age.
Item level. For each item its dimension and relation to the social-emotional developmental age level is indicated.
This analysis may clarify specific strong and weak aspects of a clients’ social and emotional behaviour, which can serve as focus for a treatment plan or advice for additional support.
The system requirements are:
- Windows XP or higher,
- Internet Explorer 7.0 or higher,
- A screen resolution of 1024x768 or higher,
- Approx. 4 MB of free disk space,
- An active Internet connection at any moment you have the program prepare a report.
To have a look at the user manual of the computer program (including a report): click here. (Adobe Acrobat Reader file: (pdf) 400 kB.)
Click here: Schaal voor het schatten van het Sociaal-Emotionele OntwikkelingsNiveau (ESSEON-R)
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