Table of Contents
ABSTRACT
Due to a low availability of updated checklists assessing the domain of maladaptive behavior for use with the Indian population, a need for updated, standardized assessment tools arose. Hence, this study was undertaken to develop a reliable and standard assessment checklist leading to development of a 107-item checklist with 14 areas or domains of maladaptive behavior called the ‘Maladaptive Behavior Assessment Checklist for Children with Develop-mental Disabilities (MABAC-CDD), based on references to other maladaptive behavior checklists, expert observations and review. The instrument is a frequency-based checklist which was pilot tested on a sample of children with developmental disabilities (N = 20). The total Maladaptive Behavior (MB) was found to be 70.65(32.66) and the frequency of MB was 20.13%, with the highest frequency of maladaptive behavior found in the domain of Unusual Behaviors (M = 10.00; SD = 5.96) and lowest score found in Carnal Expression Behavior (M = 1.65; SD = 2.28). MABAC-CDD was found to successfully and suitable assess maladaptive behavior in children with developmental disabilities across a broad range of domains i.e., aggressive behavior, mood outbursts, self-hurting behavior, unusual behavior, hyperactive behavior, inattentive behavior, non-cooperative behavior, asocial behavior, fears, solitary behavior, self-assessment, stereotypical behavior, carnal expression behavior and screen time misuse. The MABAC-CDD helps identify the target areas for interventions and identifies behaviors requiring a higher focus, duration and intensity when planning an intervention. The checklist paves a way for evaluation for use among professionals such as special educators, psychologists, behavioral therapists and allied professionals involved in the care and support of children with developmental disabilities.
Keywords: Maladaptive behavior checklist, children with developmental disabilities, intervention planning, assessment and evaluation, checklist for problem behaviors, autism spectrum disorder, intellectual disabilities, children, India
