Peer and Self-Rating Scale (PSRS)

Abstract

The Peer and Self-Rating Scale (PSRS) is a comprehensive sociometric assessment instrument developed to measure children’s perceptions of behaviors relevant to clinical conditions, particularly those associated with hyperkinetic impulse disorder, which is highly related to modern conceptualizations of Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD). Developed by Glow and Glow in 1980, the scale utilizes both peer nominations and self-ratings to derive scores across six distinct factors encompassing aspects of social competence, behavioral problems (such as hyperactivity and bullying), and emotional distress (such as shyness). The PSRS provides valuable multi-informant data regarding a child’s social standing and classroom behavior, offering a robust profile for clinical and educational research.

Keywords

Peer Rating, Self-Rating, Sociometric Assessment, Child Behavior, Hyperkinetic Impulse Disorder, ADHD, Social Competence, Bullying, Shyness, Internalizing Behavior, Externalizing Behavior.

Authors

R. A. Glow, P. H. Glow

Purpose

The primary purpose of the Peer and Self-Rating Scale (PSRS) is to obtain reliable and valid measures of behavioral and social attributes in children through the perspectives of their peers and themselves. This method is particularly effective for identifying children exhibiting behaviors characteristic of hyperactivity, impulsivity, and disruptive conduct, as well as those demonstrating positive traits like effectiveness and popularity. By incorporating peer nominations, the scale captures the ecological validity of behavior as observed within the natural school environment, which is often crucial for diagnosing behavioral difficulties.

Beyond clinical screening, the PSRS is designed for research applications concerning the interplay between internalizing and externalizing behaviors, social status, and academic performance in school-aged populations. It differentiates various aspects of social and behavioral adjustment, providing researchers and practitioners with fine-grained subscale scores rather than a single global measure.

Construct

The PSRS is a multidimensional instrument constructed to measure a child’s social and behavioral profile, rooted in the concept of perceived behavior within a group setting. The overarching construct is the perception of specific behavioral traits relevant to socio-emotional adjustment and psychopathology, notably the cluster of symptoms associated with hyperkinesis and impulse control difficulties. The scale operationalizes this construct across six main dimensions: Shyness-sensitivity, Inconsideration, Effectiveness, Popularity, Bullying, and Hyper (Hyperactivity/Impulsivity). This structure allows for the simultaneous assessment of both maladaptive behaviors (e.g., Bullying, Hyper) and adaptive social skills (e.g., Popularity, Effectiveness).

Validity

While specific coefficients for criterion or predictive validity are typically detailed in the original research, the PSRS demonstrates strong evidence of construct validity through its clear factor structure derived from the 50 items. The factors—such as Hyper and Bullying—align theoretically with established clinical constructs of externalizing behavior problems. Furthermore, its utility in distinguishing clinical groups (e.g., children with hyperkinetic symptoms) from control groups supports its discriminative validity. The instrument’s reliance on peer input enhances its ecological validity, as peer ratings often correlate highly with independent observational measures of behavior in natural settings.

Reliability

The Peer and Self-Rating Scale exhibits excellent internal consistency across its subscales, indicating that the items within each factor are highly correlated and measure the same underlying construct. The reported reliability coefficients (Cronbach’s Alpha) from the initial validation study confirm the high quality of these psychometric properties:

• Inconsideration: 0.98

• Hyper (Hyperactivity/Impulsivity): 0.98

• Effectiveness: 0.97

• Shyness-sensitivity: 0.89

• Popularity: 0.87

• Bullying: 0.81

These high reliability scores, particularly for the Inconsideration and Hyper factors, suggest that the scale is highly consistent in measuring the targeted behavioral dimensions within the study population.

Factor Analysis

The structure of the PSRS is based on factor analysis, which yielded six distinct, clinically relevant factors (subscales). These factors categorize the 50 items into specific behavioral domains, offering a nuanced profile of the child being rated. The items loading onto these factors are as follows:

• Shyness-sensitivity (7 items): Items 5, 7, 10, 12, 15, 32, 34.

• Inconsideration (11 items): Items 9, 11, 24, 27, 31, 35, 37, 39, 44, 45, 48.

• Effectiveness (8 items): Items 3, 14, 19, 23, 26, 36, 40, 50.

• Popularity (4 items): Items 13, 33, 38, 47.

• Bullying (4 items): Items 22, 29, 46, 49.

• Hyper (Hyperactivity/Impulsivity) (16 items): Items 1, 2, 4, 6, 8, 16, 17, 18, 20, 21, 25, 28, 30, 41, 42, 43.

This factor structure allows researchers to isolate specific behavioral clusters, facilitating targeted interventions and detailed analysis of complex behavioral syndromes like ADHD.

Instrument

Test Type: Sociometric and Behavioral Rating Scale

Format: 50 items, administered primarily as peer nominations (asking classmates “Who…”) and self-ratings.

Language Available: English (Original study context)

Population Group: School-aged children

Age Group: Elementary school age (typically 6-12 years old)

Population Details: Developed and validated initially on standard school populations for the assessment of behaviors relevant to hyperkinetic impulse disorder.

Test Methodology: Children are asked to nominate peers (or themselves) who best fit the description provided in each item. Scores reflect the frequency of nomination received for each item cluster.

Keywords

Child Psychology, Peer Nomination, Behavioral Assessment, Psychopathology, Impulse Control, Social Skills, School Behavior, Externalizing Problems, Internalizing Problems, Clinical Screening.

Authors

Author ORCID Identifier: N/A (Information not provided in source)

Affiliation Email addresses: N/A (Information not provided in source)

Correspondence Address: N/A (Information not provided in source)

Permissions & Fee and Test Year

The Peer and Self-Rating Scale (PSRS) was initially published in 1980 by R. A. Glow and P. H. Glow. The scale is documented extensively in clinical sourcebooks and academic journals. Researchers seeking to utilize the scale should consult the original publication for permissions, as detailed in the reference section. The instrument can be found in a sourcebook context (Fischer & Corcoran, 2007) and the original research article is accessible online.

Reference’s

The primary research and documentation for the Peer and Self-Rating Scale (PSRS) include:

• Glow, R. A., Glow, P. H. (1980). Peer and self-rating: Children’s perception of behavior relevant to hyperkinetic impulse disorder. Journal of Abnormal Child Psychology, 8(4), 471–490.

• Glow, R. A., and Glow, P., H. (1980). Peer Self-Rating Scale (PSRS). In Fischer, Joel., Corcoran, Kevin J. (2007). Measures for Clinical Practice and research: A sourcebook. (4th ed.). NY. Oxford University Pr. Vol. 1, Page (s): 580-583.

The original instrument information is also available in an academic publication here: https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/BF00916501.

Items of the Peer and Self-Rating Scale (PSRS)

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

1. Who is taller than most?
2. Who fidgets with things?
3. Who is clumsy?
4. Who gets angry when they don’t get their own way?
5. Who usually gets chosen last to join in activities?
6. Who is rude to the teacher?
7. Who never seems to be ha‎ving a good time?
8. Who can’t Sit still?
9. Who does or says things without thinking?
10. Who is too shy to make friends?
11. Who is mean and cruel to other children?
12. Who is unhappy or sad?
13. Who is your close friend?
14. Who does strange things?
15. Who gets upset when asked to answer questions in class?
16. Who bothers people when they are trying to work?
17. Who is smaller than most?
18. Who thinks of interesting things to do?
19. Who daydreams?
20. Who never seems to get upset by things?
21. Who wants to be the teacher’s pet?
22. Who gives dirty looks?
23. Who always seems to understand things?
24. Who acts like a baby?
25. Who always messes around and gets into trouble?
26. Who often has to be reminded of things?
27. Who tries to get others into trouble?
28. Who doesn’t pay attention to the teacher?
29. Who says they can beat everybody up?
30. Who gets very upset by tests?
31. Who exaggerates and makes up stories?
32. Who is not noticed much?
33. Who is fun to do things with?
34. Who has very few friends?
35. Who wants to show off in front of the class?
36. Who can be relied upon?
37. Who complains a lot?
38. Who is especially nice?
39. Who blames the others?
40. Who helps the others?
41. Whose feelings are easily hurt?
42. Who is good at sports?
43. Who often doesn’t want to play?
44. Who borrows things without asking?
45. Who thinks they are better than everyone else?
46. Who makes fun of people?
47. Who is liked by everyone?
48. Who can’t wait their turn?
49. Who tells other children what to do?
50. Who always does what they are told?