Child and Informant Influences on Behavioral Ratings of Preschool Children.

This study investigated relations among teacher, parent, and observer behavioral ratings of 3- and 4-year-old children using intraclass correlations and ANOVA. Comparisons within and across children from middle- (N =166; Mean age 54.25 months, SD = 8.74) and low-income (N =199; Mean age 51.21 months, SD = 7.22) backgrounds revealed significant agreement between the raters but also considerable differences in both ranking and absolute scores between raters. Teachers and parents consistently rated children from low-income classrooms as having more behavioral problems and fewer prosocial behaviors. Results are conceptualized with respect to how differential expectations, comparison groups, and types of interaction with children can affect the evaluation of child behavior. Results point to the need for multiple sources of evaluation when assessing a child for behavioral difficulties, particularly in children from lower income backgrounds.