Adaptive Behavior Scale part two: Relative severity of maladaptive behavior.

Part Two of the Adaptive Behavior Scale contains statements that cover 13 domains of maladaptive behavior. The present system of scoring and profiling reflects the frequency of occurrence of behavior (either occasionally or frequency) and not severity or relative importance. Thirty-three psychologists with experience in mental retardation rated the 452 statements contained in Part Two along a continuum of severity. Median severity scores were computed for all statements. Results indicated that statements prefaced by "frequently" were judged as more serious than those prefaced by "occasionally," and domains varied greatly with regard to relative severity. Correlational analysi revealed that irrespective of absolute differences due to frequency of occurrence, different types of maladaptive behavior were systematically placed along a relative continuum. Substantial reliability was found among judgments. Possible clinical and psychometric advantages of using these severity scores were suggested.