Social Interactions Behavior Inventory (SIBI)

Abstract

The Social Interactions Behavior Inventory (SIBI) is a specialized psychological scale developed by Winnie Wing Sum Chung in 2012. Its primary objective is to systematically assess the frequency and quality of social interactions exhibited by children, particularly those diagnosed with High-Functioning Autism (HFA) or Asperger’s Syndrome (AS). The SIBI utilizes both parent and child report formats to capture a comprehensive view of social behavior across three distinct environments: school, community, and home. It serves as a crucial tool for researchers and clinicians monitoring social development and intervention efficacy in this population.

The SIBI covers critical areas of interaction, including peer play, friendship maintenance, experiences with bullying, and engagement in organized activities. By providing parallel versions, the scale allows for a comparison between the child’s subjective experience and the parent’s objective observation of the child’s social life.

Keywords

Social Interactions Behavior Inventory, SIBI, High-Functioning Autism, Asperger’s Syndrome, HFA, AS, social behavior, peer interaction, psychometrics, childhood assessment.

Authors

Winnie Wing Sum Chung.

[quads id=5]

Purpose

The central purpose of the SIBI is to provide a detailed, quantitative measure of a child’s engagement in social activities and the quality of those interactions. Unlike broader measures of autism symptoms, the SIBI focuses specifically on observable social behavior in naturalistic settings, offering a fine-grained analysis of social challenges.

The scale is designed to identify specific patterns of interaction, such as solitary play versus peer engagement, participation in organized activities (clubs/sports), and the maintenance of friendships. By collecting data from both the child and the parent, the instrument aims to capture discrepancies in perception, which are often significant when studying children with social communication challenges.

Construct

The SIBI measures the construct of Social Interaction Behavior, which encompasses the frequency, initiation, and successful maintenance of social relationships. This construct is operationalized across several key domains, including social engagement at school (e.g., recess behavior, team play), community involvement (e.g., clubs, playdates), and interactions within the family unit (e.g., conflicts, shared activities).

A specific feature of the SIBI is its inclusion of items related to modern forms of communication, such as online gaming and social networking media, reflecting contemporary challenges and opportunities for social engagement among children, particularly those who may struggle with face-to-face interactions.

Validity

While specific statistical details of validity (e.g., criterion or predictive validity coefficients) are typically detailed in the originating thesis, the SIBI was developed with strong consideration for content validity. The items were carefully curated based on existing literature and clinical observation of social deficits characteristic of children with HFA/AS.

The use of parallel Parent and Child versions supports attempts at establishing convergent validity, allowing researchers to compare adult observation with subjective child experience regarding peer relations and social comfort. The initial validation work was conducted as part of the M.A. thesis by Chung (2012) at The Ohio State University, focusing on the instrument’s ability to differentiate functional social behaviors in children on the Autism spectrum.

Reliability

The reliability of the SIBI is established through standard psychometric analyses conducted during its development phase. Typically, scales of this nature aim for high internal consistency, often measured using Cronbach’s Alpha, to ensure that the items within a given domain consistently measure the same aspect of social behavior.

Additionally, the SIBI’s utility relies on adequate test-retest reliability, demonstrating stability of the measured social behaviors over short periods, especially crucial when tracking intervention progress in clinical settings.

Factor Analysis

Although the exact structure derived from the factor analysis is not provided in the source excerpt, the SIBI is conceptually organized into distinct factors reflecting the environment in which the social behavior occurs: At School, In the Community, and At Home. Factor analysis likely confirmed these empirically derived subscales, separating items related to peer dynamics (e.g., bullying, team inclusion) from those focused on solitary activities or family interactions.

The structure also includes specific dimensions related to friendship quality (e.g., conflict resolution, shared interests) and frequency of interaction, suggesting a multi-faceted factor structure designed to capture the complexity of social functioning in children with developmental differences.

Instrument

Test Type: Behavioral rating scale; Self-report and Informant report.

Format: Multi-item questionnaire utilizing Likert-type scales (e.g., “Not at all” to “Very often” or “A lot”) and some dichotomous (Yes/No) questions, typically assessing behavior over the past two weeks.

Language Available: English (as per the source material).

Population Group: Clinical and General population children.

Age Group: School-aged children (Elementary/Middle School age, implied by content focusing on recess, team games, and parent permissions for social media).

Population Details: Specifically designed and validated for children diagnosed with High-Functioning Autism (HFA) or Asperger’s Syndrome (AS).

Test Methodology: Self-administered questionnaire (Child Version) and questionnaire completed by a primary caregiver (Parent Version).

Keywords

Social interactions, HFA, AS, autism assessment, peer relationships, social competence, child psychopathology, behavioral inventory, school behavior, parent report.

[quads id=5]

Authors

Author ORCID Identifier: Not publicly available in source material.

Affiliation Email addresses: Not publicly available in source material.

Correspondence Address: The Ohio State University (Affiliation at time of publication).

Permissions & Fee and Test Year

The SIBI was developed in 2012 as part of a Master of Arts thesis. Access to the full instrument and associated scoring details is typically governed by the thesis author and The Ohio State University. Researchers should consult the full thesis for guidelines regarding reproduction and use. The original thesis document containing the scale can be found via the following OhioLINK repository link: http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=osu1339177398

Reference’s

Chung, Winnie Wing Sum. (2012). Development of the Social Interactions Behavior Inventory (SIBI) for Children with High-Functioning Autism/Asperger’s Syndrome. The Ohio State University. M.A Thesis.

[quads id=5]

Items of the Social Interactions Behavior Inventory (SIBI)

IMPORTANT: The following scale items must be preserved in their original language and must not be changed in any way.

Parent Version

AT SCHOOL

1. Your child had fun playing with other children at school.

Not at all, Seldom, Sometimes, Often, Very often, Don’t know

2. Your child played by him/herself more than with other children.

Not at all, Seldom, Sometimes, Often, Very often, Don’t know

3. Your child knew how to play a game other children played at recess.

Not at all, Seldom, Sometimes, Often, Very often, Don’t know

4. Other children played with your child at recess.

Not at all, Seldom, Sometimes, Often, Very often, Don’t know

5. Your child joined in other children’s games at recess.

Not at all, Seldom, Sometimes, Often, Very often, Don’t know

6. Other children bullied or teased your child.

Not at all, Seldom, Sometimes, Often, Very often, Don’t know

7. A child at school picked your child to be on a team for games.

Not at all, Seldom, Sometimes, Often, Very often, Don’t know

8. Your child maintained a friendship with another child at school.

Not at all, Seldom, Sometimes, Often, Very often, Don’t know

If yes, his/her first name is: _______________________________________________

9. Your child felt close to other children at school.

Not at all, Seldom, Sometimes, Often, Very often, Don’t know

10. Your child is more comfortable talking to children in online games than to children at school.

Not at all, Seldom, Sometimes, Often, Very often, Does Not Play Online Games

IN THE COMMUNITY

In the past two weeks…

11. Your child had fun playing with other children in the community.

Not at all, Seldom, Sometimes, Often, Very often

12. Your child was allowed to access or utilize social networking media (e.g., Facebook, Twitter). Yes/ No

Not at all, Seldom, Sometimes, Often, Very often

13. Your child expressed interest in accessing or utilizing social networking media (e.g., Facebook, Twitter).

Not at all, Seldom, Sometimes, Often, Very often

14. Your child participated in a club or sports team (e.g., Scouts, soccer).

Not at all, Attended A Few Meetings/Practices, Attended Some Meetings/Practices, Attended Most Meetings/Practices, Attended Almost All Meetings/Practices

Please specify activity: __________________________________________________

15. A child invited your child to play at his/her house.

Not at all, Seldom, Sometimes, Often, Very often

16. Your child played at another child’s house.

Not at all, Seldom, Sometimes, Often, Very often

17. A child came to play at your child’s house.

Not at all, Seldom, Sometimes, Often, Very often

18. Your child played outside the home with other children.

Not at all, Seldom, Sometimes, Often, Very often

19. Your child maintained a friendship with another child outside of school.

Not at all, Seldom, Sometimes, Often, Very often n

If yes, his/her first name is: _____________________________

IF YOUR CHILD HAS A FRIEND AT SCHOOL OR OUTSIDE OF SCHOOL (if not, please skip to #21)…

In the past two weeks…

1. This friend called or texted your child.

Not at all, Seldom, Sometimes, Often, Very often, Not Allowed/No Phone

2. Your child called or texted this friend.

Not at all, Seldom, Sometimes, Often, Very often, Not Allowed/No Phone

3. This friend came to play at your house.

Not at all, Seldom, Sometimes, Often, Very often

4. Your child went to play at this friend’s house.

Not at all, Seldom, Sometimes, Often, Very often

20. Your child indicated desiring more/better social interactions with other children.

Not at all, Seldom, Sometimes, Often, Very often

AT HOME

In the past two weeks…

21. Your child had fun playing with his/her family.

Not at all, Seldom, Sometimes, Often, Very often

22. Your child asked a family member to play games with him/her.

Not at all, Seldom, Sometimes, Often, Very often

23. Your child had a conflict or argument with one of his/her family members.

Not at all, Seldom, Sometimes, Often, Very often

24. Your child only played by him/herself.

Not at all, Seldom, Sometimes, Often, Very often

25. Your child mostly engaged in this activity (please specify): _________________

Your child engaged in this activity only by him/herself.

Not at all, Seldom, Sometimes, Often, Very often

DID THIS HAPPEN TO YOUR CHILD?

26. Your child had a conflict or argument with another child (peer or sibling). Yes/ No

If yes, your child was successful in resolving the conflict or argument with this child.

Not at all, Not really successful, Neutral, Somewhat successful, Very successful

27. Your child had a conversation with a friend about things they were both interested in.

Not at all, Seldom, Sometimes, Often, Very often

28. Your child had a conversation with a friend about things your child wasn’t interested in, because your child’s friend was interested in those things.

Not at all, Seldom, Sometimes, Often, Very often

ADDITIONAL COMMENTS

——————————————————————————————————

Child Version

AT SCHOOL (If you are homeschooled, please think about your social interactions in other places, such as at Scouts or other programs for kids)

In the past two weeks…

1. I liked other kids at school.

No, Not really, Sometimes, Often, A lot

2. I played by myself more than with other kids at recess.

No, Not really, Sometimes, Often, A lot

3. I wished I had more or better friends at school.

No, Not really, Sometimes, Often, A lot

4. I had fun playing with other kids at school.

No, Not really, Sometimes, Often, A lot

5. A kid at school asked me to play, or wanted to play with me at recess.

No, Not really, Sometimes, Often, A lot

At School

6. I knew how to play a game other kids at school played at recess.

No, Not really, Sometimes, Often, A lot

7. I played near other kids at recess but not with them.

No, Not really, Sometimes, Often, A lot

8. I played a team game at recess (e.g., dodge ball, four square).

No, Not really, Sometimes, Often, A lot

9. A kid picked me to be on a team for games.

No, Not really, Sometimes, Often, A lot

10. I talked with a kid about something at recess.

No, Not really, Sometimes, Often, A lot

11. I had a friend at school.

No, Not really, Sometimes, Often, A lot

If yes, his/her first name is: _____________________________

12. I was teased or bullied.

No, Not really, Sometimes, Often, A lot

13. I joined another kid in his/her game at recess.

No, Not really, Sometimes, Often, A lot

AFTER SCHOOL

14. I talked to kids in online games more than I talked to kids at school.

No, Not really, Sometimes, Often, A lot, Don’t Play Online Games

15. I played __________________________________ the most at recess.

16. My favorite game to play at recess: _____________________________________

17. I participated in a club activity, Scouts, or a sports team like soccer.

No, Not really, Sometimes, Often, A lot

If yes, what did you do? ___________________________________________

18. I had fun playing with other kids after school.

No, Not really, Sometimes, Often, A lot

19. A kid invited me to play at his/her house.

No, Not really, Sometimes, Often, A lot

20. I played at a kid’s house.

No, Not really, Sometimes, Often, A lot

21. A kid came to play at my house.

No, Not really, Sometimes, Often, A lot

22. I played outside with other kids.

No, Not really, Sometimes, Often, A lot

23. I had a friend in my neighborhood.

No, Not really, Sometimes, Often, A lot

If yes, his/her first name is: ______________________________________

IF YOU HAVE A FRIEND AT SCHOOL OR IN YOUR NEIGHBORHOOD (if not, please skip to #24)…

In the past two weeks …

1. This friend called me or texted me.

No, Not really, Sometimes, Often, A lot, Not Allowed/No Phone

2. I called or texted this friend.

No, Not really, Sometimes, Often, A lot Not Allowed/No Phone

3. This friend came to play at my house.

No, Not really, Sometimes, Often, A lot

4. I played at this friend’s house.

No, Not really, Sometimes, Often, A lot

AT HOME

24. I had fun playing with my family.

No, Not really, Sometimes, Often, A lot

25. I played mostly by myself.

No, Not really, Sometimes, Often, A lot

26. I asked my family to play games with me.

No, Not really, Sometimes, Often, A lot

27. I fought or argued with someone in my family.

No, Not really, Sometimes, Often, A lot

28. I mostly played (please specify): ______________________________________________

I played this mostly by myself.

No, Not really, Sometimes, Often, A lot

DID THIS HAPPEN TO YOU?

In the past two weeks…

29. I fought/argued with my friend. Yes/ No

If yes…I fought/argued with my friend and now…

We’re definitely not friends, We’re not really friends, I’m not sure we are friends, We’re kind of friends, We’re definitely friends

30. I talked to my friend about stuff we both like to talk about.

No, Not really, Sometimes, Often, A lot

31. I talked to my friend about stuff that only my friend likes to talk about.

No, Not really, Sometimes, Often, A lot

ADDITIONAL COMMENTS —————————————————————————-