Using the Assessment of Liability and Exposure to Substance Use and Antisocial Behavior, Revised (ALEXSA-R) System for Assessing Social and Emotional Learning

• In Event: Innovative Approaches to Measuring Social Emotional Skills: Instruments and Findings From National and International Studies

Abstract

Objectives/purpose. The development and psychometrics of the Assessment of Liability and EXposure to Substance use and Antisocial behavior, Revised© system (ALEXSA-R©) and Brief Risk Index© (BRI) will be reviewed, focusing on subscales closely aligned with social and emotion learning frameworks. Scales measuring Planning and Concentration, Social Disinhibition, Problem Solving, and Social Support will be reviewed and discussed, as will innovative uses of technology in delivering the instrument and findings of studies with diverse populations.

Theoretical Framework. ALEXSA-R© was designed to comprehensively assess the propensity of children ages 9 to 13 for substance abuse, conduct problems, and other health-compromising behaviors. Subscales measure risk factors in the child, family, peer, and environment, as well as social, emotional, and behavioral outcomes. The BRI is a shorter screening tool that consists of key items from the ALEXSA-R.

Methods. ALEXSA-R uses an illustration-based, audio, computer-assisted self-interview (IACASI) format. Illustrations for questions and response options present demonstrations by two sibling protagonists, Alex and Alexis, whose physical appearance could occur in any race/ethnic group. Both Alex and Alexis appear in about half of the item illustrations. The remaining items contain Alex for male respondents and Alexis for female respondents. The ALEXSA-R can be completed by youth with poor reading skills and has been administered in group settings and single use clinical assessments. ALEXSA-R and BRI have been developed with contiguous NIH funding since 2000. ALEXSA-R’s 33 core risk subscales are organized into 10 risk domains (per factor analysis), and includes additional subscales at lesser stages of development (e.g., Boredom).

Data sources/evidence. Psychometric results including reliability, concurrent and predictive validity, and construct validity, are reviewed from samples of rural and urban late elementary school students, the U.S. standardization sample, youth experiencing chronic stress, youth who had been exposed to cocaine and other drugs in utero, and African-American students residing in low-income rural neighborhoods.

Results/conclusions. New results are presented for test-retest reliability, internal consistency, and concurrent validity in Mexican migrants with English as a Second Language who were receiving remedial, afterschool education because of low achievement in either reading or mathematics (N=100). Their ALEXSA-R scores are compared to U.S. native students receiving remedial education, psychiatric inpatients, and validity criteria including the Social Health Profile and Wide Range Achievement Test – III. The study discusses differences found in scale scores on social and emotional domains among tested groups Also reported is the preliminary efficacy for a Screening, Brief Intervention, and Referral to Treatment (SBIRT) for low income patients who are screened using the instrument during pediatrician well-child visits, provided comprehensive risk evaluation (including the ALEXSA-R), and given a family-based motivational interviewing intervention (Family Check-Up).

Scientific/scholarly significance. ALEXSA-R has undergone thorough development and testing with a diverse array of youth populations in the United States. Issues of literacy, cultural contexts, and students’ understanding of items have been addressed in the extensive development and testing. ALEXSA_R has strong potential for large-scale use in school settings, both as a health screening tool and as an assessment of social and emotional learning competencies in classrooms.

Author

• Ty Ridenour, RTI International