Content area
Full text
LeBuffe, P. A., & Naglieri, J. A. (1999). The Devereux Early Childhood Assessment. Lewisville, NC: Kaplan Press.
LeBuffe, P. A., & Naglieri, J. A. (2003). Devereux Early Childhood Assessment Clinical Form (DECA-C). Lewisville, NC: Kaplan Press.
Description
Based on the seminal work of Emmy Werner (1990), practitioners have recognized the powerful role protective and risk factors play in the development of children's emotional and behavioral adjustment. Protective factors, events, or processes that decrease the impact of risk factors generally include environmental (e.g., quality of education and child care), family (e.g., relationships with parents, siblings), and withinchild (emotional and behavioral strengths) characteristics. These characteristics vary within children's lives and influence their ability to overcome and thrive when faced with obstacles (i.e., resilience). Researchers have concluded that differences in children's reactions to difficult events are influenced by the type and level of protective factors in children's lives (Goldstein & Rider, 2005; Masten & Garmezy, 1985).
Scholars, educators, and policymakers have advocated the use of developmentally appropriate assessment approaches that measure protective (i.e., strengths) and risk factors among young children (Individuals with Disabilities Education Act of 1997; Individuals with Disabilities Education Act of 2005; National Association for the Education of Young Children, 2003; Werner, 1990). The Devereux Early Childhood Assessment (DECA) and Devereux Early Childhood Assessment Clinical Form (DECA-C) are the first standardized, norm-referenced assessment instruments that evaluate within-child protective and risk factors (i.e., behavioral concerns) in young children age 2 to 5 years.
Based on the resilience literature, the DECA system is designed as a strengthbased assessment approach linked to classroom and home-based strategies that promote children's personal assets and remediate behavioral concerns before they become entrenched and possibly develop into behavior disorders. The DECA system can be used to evaluate children individually (DECA Individual Profile) or in a group and/or classroom context (DECA Classroom Profile) and monitor young children's progress at home and/or school (LeBuffe & Shapiro, 2004).
Features
The DECA consists of 37 items that include two composite scales: Total Protective Factors and Behavioral Concerns. The Total Protective Factors Scale consists of 27 items that assess children's positive behaviors, and the Behavior Concerns Scale consists of 10 items that assess children's social and emotional problems. The Behavior Concerns Scale items were selected from the...