Title

Assessing the Factor Structure and Measurement Invariance of the BASC-3 Behavioral and Emotional Screening System Student Form Across Race/Ethnicity and Gender

ORCID ID

Elizabeth Goncy https://orcid.org/0000-0002-7621-7076

Document Type

Article

Publication Date

12-2022

Publication Title

Assessment for Effective Intervention

Abstract

The BASC-3 Behavioral and Emotional Screening System Student Form (BESS SF) is the latest iteration of a widely used instrument for identifying students at behavioral and emotional risk. Measurement invariance across race/ethnicity and gender for the latest BESS SF has not yet been established. Using a sample of 737 urban fourth- to eighth-grade students, we tested competing models of the BESS SF to determine the best-fitting factor structure. We also tested for measurement equivalence by race/ethnicity (i.e., White, Black, Latinx) and gender (i.e., boys, girls). Consistent with prior findings, we identified that a bifactor structure of the BESS SF best fit the data and supported measurement equivalence across race/ethnicity and gender. These findings provide further support for using the BESS SF to conduct universal behavioral and emotional screening among diverse students. More research is needed in schools serving students with greater racial/ethnic and socioeconomic diversity.

DOI

10.1177/15345084221095440

Volume

48

Issue

1

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