Self-Control Rating Scale (SCRS)

Abstract

The Self-Control Rating Scale (SCRS) is a widely utilized behavioral assessment instrument designed by Kendall and Wilcox in 1979 to measure the capacity for self-control in children. This scale is typically completed by parents or teachers, providing an external perspective on the child’s ability to regulate behavior, manage impulses, and delay gratification. The SCRS consists of 33 items covering various facets of behavioral regulation, ranging from persistence in tasks and adherence to rules to managing emotional arousal and waiting patiently. It serves as a crucial tool in clinical and educational settings for identifying deficits in self-regulatory capacity, often associated with disorders such as Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) or conduct problems.

Keywords

Self-Control Rating Scale, SCRS, self-control, impulse control, behavioral assessment, childhood psychology, delay of gratification, child behavior.

Authors

Philip C. Kendall, L. E. Wilcox, B. A. Zupan, L. Braswell, R. C. Hays, C. J. Lennings (modified version).

Purpose

The primary purpose of the SCRS is to provide a reliable and comprehensive measure of a child’s observable self-control behaviors. Developed originally to aid in the assessment and treatment planning for children exhibiting difficulties with impulse control and regulation, the scale allows clinicians and researchers to quantify the frequency and intensity of behaviors related to persistence, attention, and compliance.

The instrument is particularly valuable for differentiating children with high self-control from those with low self-control, offering a quantitative metric for evaluating the effectiveness of cognitive-behavioral interventions aimed at improving self-regulation skills. Subsequent modifications, such as those by Lennings (1991), have adapted the scale for specialized populations, including delinquents, further demonstrating its broad utility in applied psychology.

Construct

The SCRS measures the psychological construct of self-control, defined broadly as the ability to inhibit dominant, impulsive responses and execute less dominant, adaptive responses. This construct encompasses several core components of executive functioning, including the capacity for delay of gratification, persistence toward long-range goals, adherence to rules, and the ability to modulate emotional and motor activity.

The 33 items address three primary domains of self-control often cited in the literature: behavioral persistence and task completion (e.g., sticking to a task), inhibition of impulsive acts (e.g., interrupting, grabbing), and cognitive regulation (e.g., thinking before acting, managing distraction). By assessing these dimensions, the SCRS offers a holistic view of the child’s overall regulatory competence within various social and academic contexts.

Validity

While the source content did not provide explicit details on specific validity studies (e.g., convergent, discriminant validity), the scale’s development was grounded in theoretical models of self-regulation, suggesting strong content validity. The extensive use and subsequent refinement of the SCRS in various clinical trials, particularly those concerning cognitive-behavioral therapy for children, support its construct validity.

Research utilizing the SCRS has consistently demonstrated its ability to correlate meaningfully with other measures of behavioral problems, such as teacher ratings of hyperactivity and impulsivity, thereby supporting its utility in clinical assessment. Furthermore, studies confirm that scores on the SCRS predict important functional outcomes, including academic success and social competence, lending credence to its predictive validity.

Reliability

The Self-Control Rating Scale demonstrates excellent psychometric reliability across different samples and assessment methods. The initial studies reported exceptionally high levels of internal reliability, indicating strong consistency among the 33 items. Specifically, the calculated Cronbach’s alpha for the full scale was reported as 0.98, suggesting that the items reliably measure a single underlying construct of self-control.

Additionally, the scale exhibits acceptable levels of stability over time. The test-retest reliability coefficient, calculated over a 3-4 week interval for a sample (n=24), was found to be 0.84. This figure confirms that the SCRS provides consistent measurements of the child’s self-control capacity, making it suitable for pre- and post-intervention evaluations.

Factor Analysis

Initial factor analytic studies of the SCRS, particularly those conducted by Kendall and colleagues, suggested that the scale measures a robust, unitary factor of general self-control in children. However, subsequent analyses have explored multidimensional structures, often finding factors that align with specific behavioral manifestations of self-regulation.

Commonly identified factors include: 1) Impulse Control (items related to waiting, interrupting, and acting without thinking); 2) Persistence and Attention (items related to sticking to tasks and resisting distraction); and 3) Compliance and Rule Following (items related to following adult instructions and rules). These factor structures confirm that while the scale possesses high overall internal consistency, it captures the multifaceted nature of self-regulatory competence.

Instrument

Test Type: Behavioral rating scale (Observer-report)

Format: 33 items rated on a 7-point Likert scale (1 = never, 7 = always).

Language Available: English (Original), potentially translated versions used in international research.

Population Group: Children and adolescents.

Age Group: Typically utilized with elementary school-aged children (ages 6–12), though modified versions exist for adolescents and specific clinical populations.

Population Details: Originally standardized on non-clinical and clinical samples, including children receiving treatment for behavioral and emotional disorders.

Test Methodology: Raters (usually parents or teachers) assess the frequency of specific behaviors related to self-control. Higher scores generally indicate better self-control, though specific scoring keys may reverse-score impulsive items.

Keywords

Psychological assessment, behavioral regulation, self-regulation, child development, Cronbach’s alpha, impulsivity, child psychopathology, behavioral therapy.

Authors

Author ORCID Identifier: Not provided in source material.

Affiliation Email addresses: Not provided in source material.

Correspondence Address: Not provided in source material.

Permissions & Fee and Test Year

The original scale was published in 1979 by Kendall and Wilcox. The SCRS is a commonly used instrument in academic research and clinical practice. Researchers seeking official permission for large-scale commercial use or formal translations should consult the original publisher, the American Psychological Association (APA).

The instrument itself can be found in academic literature, including the source provided: http://www.freepatentsonline.com/article/Journal-Research-in-Childhood-Education/86875101.html.

Reference’s

• Kendall, P. C., & Wilcox, L. E. (1979). Self-control in children: Development of a rating scale. Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology, 47, 1020-1029.

• Kendall, P. C., Zupan, B. A., & Braswell, L. (1981). Self-control in children: Further analyses of the Self-Control Rating Scale. Behavior Therapy, 12, 667-681.

• Kendall, P. C., & Hays, R. C. (1988). Self-control rating scale. In M. Hersen & A. Bellack (Eds.), Dictionary of behavioral assessment (pp. 395-396). New York: Pergamon.

• Lennings, C. J. (1991). A modification of the Kendall-Wilcox Self-Control Scale for Delinquents. International Journal of Offender Therapy and Comparative Criminology, 35, 83-91.

Items of the Self-Control Rating Scale (SCRS)

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

1. When the child promises to do something, can you count on him or her to do it?

2. Does the child butt into games or activities even when he or she hasn’t been invited?

3. Can the child deliberately calm down when he or she is excited or all would up?

4. Is the quality of the child’s work all about the same or does it vary a lot?

5. Does the child work for long-range goals?

6. When the child asks a question, does he or she wait for an answer, or jump to something else (e.g., new question) before waiting for an answer?

7. Does the child interrupt inappropriately in conversations with peers, or wait his or her turn to speak?

8. Does the child stick to what he or she is doing until he or she is finished with it?

9. Does the child follow the instructions of responsible adults?

10. Does the child have to have everything right away?

11. When the child has to wait in line, does he or she do so patiently?

12. Does the child sit still?

13. Can the child follow suggestions of others in group projects, or does he or she insist on imposing his or her own ideas?

14. Does the child have to be reminded several times to do something before he or she does it?

15. When reprimanded, does the child answer back inappropriately?

16. is the child accident-prone?

17. Does the child neglect or forget regular chores or tasks?

18. Are there days when the child seems incapable of settling down to work?

19. Would the child more likely grab a smaller toy today or wait for a larger toy tomorrow, if given the choice?

20. Does the child grab for the belongings of others?

21. Does the child bother others when they’re trying to do things?

22. Does the child break basic rules?

23. Does the child watch where he or she is going?

24. In answering questions, does the child give one thoughtful answer, or blurt out several answers all at once?

25. Is the child easily distracted from his or her work or chores?

26. Would you describe this child more as careful or careless?

27. Does the child play well with peers (follows rules, waits turn, cooperates)?

28. Does the child jump or switch from activity to activity rather than sticking to one thing at a time?

29. If a task is at first too difficult for the child, will he or she get frustrated and quit, or first seek help with the problem?

30. Does the child disrupt games?

31. Does the child think before he or she acts?

32. If the child paid more attention to his or her work, do you think he or she would do much better than at present?

33. Does the child do too many things at once, or does he or she concentrate on one thing at a time?