Measuring the Emotional and Behavioral Problems among Iranian Students: A Psychometric Study

Abstract

The present study investigated the initial psychometric properties of the Youth Internalizing (YIBS) and Externalizing Behavior Screener (YEBS) in a sample of Iranian adolescents. The participants of the present study included two independent samples of 676 adolescents attending public elementary and high schools in Arak city, Iran. Findings from confirmatory factor analysis indicated that both measures yielded good data-model fit statistics with strong factor loadings for each first-order factor, and all scales had adequate to strong internal and latent construct reliability coefficients. Concurrent validity analyses demonstrated the moderate-to-large and significant associations between the measures and criterion validity outcomes (e.g., emotional problems, peer problems, and conduct problems), and the scales were moderate–to-largely correlated with well-being indicators (i.e., prosocial behavior and school belonging). Furthermore, the results showed substantial differences between youths classified as externalizing and internalizing cases and non-cases, which were characterized by moderate–to–large effect sizes for each of the concurrent variables. Overall, these outcomes provide initial validity and reliability evidence in favor of the Persian version of the YEBS and YIBS as multidimensional measures of students' emotional and behavioral problems at school.