Preschool Version of the Social Skills Rating System

The purpose of the present study was to investigate the reliability and validity of the published teacher version of the preschool Social Skills Rating System (SSRS) for Head Start children. Three major questions were addressed. First, does the published SSRS replicate the factors found in the test manual, which are based on the tryout version of the SSRS? Second, is there empirical support for two independent Social Skills and Problem Behaviors domains? Third, do sociometric indices of peer acceptance provide convergent and divergent validity for SSRS constructs? The SSRS was administered to a sample of 943 urban Head Start children. Exploratory factor analyses replicated the Internalizing and Externalizing factors from the tryout version but did not replicate prosocial factors. Self-Control, Interpersonal Skills, and Verbal Assertion factors were found, but they were not identical to the tryout version factors. Higher-order factor analyses revealed only one social competency dimension, with Social Skills and Problem Behaviors factors inversely related. Sociometric data did not provide convergent and divergent validity for SSRS factors. Implications for the continued development of the SSRS include further study of the relationship between the Social Skills and Problem Behaviors scale, concurrent validity, and the preschool parent version.