ABSTRACT

Social and emotional development in early childhood has been shown to predict long-term outcomes, including school readiness and academic achievement. Early years practitioners need robust assessment tools to adequately identify early signs of social, emotional, behavioural and mental health (SEMH) difficulties. The current study aimed to develop and validate the Early Years Boxall Profile (EYBP). A total of 510 children were assessed by preschool practitioners using the EYBP and the Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire. We found that the EYBP showed limited accuracy in screening children with SEMH difficulties. However, the EYBP had good internal consistency and excellent convergent and concurrent validity. Results suggest that the tool may be helpful to identify early signs of SEMH needs. Future research is needed to explore the structural validity of the assessment tool and to improve its diagnostic abilities.

摘要

儿童早期的社会和情感发展已被证明可以预测长期结果，包括入学准备和学业成绩。早年从业者需要强大的评估工具来充分识别社交、情绪、行为和心理健康 (SEMH) 困难的早期迹象。目前的研究旨在开发和验证早期 Boxall 档案 (EYBP)。学龄前从业人员使用 EYBP 和优势和困难问卷对总共 510 名儿童进行了评估。我们发现 EYBP 在筛查有 SEMH 困难的儿童方面表现出有限的准确性。然而，EYBP 具有良好的内部一致性和出色的收敛和并发效度。结果表明，该工具可能有助于识别 SEMH 需求的早期迹象。