Assessing Social Behaviors in the Visually Handicapped: The Matson Evaluation of Social Skills with Youngsters (MESSY)

Abstract

Abstract The present investigation was divided into three studies aimed at establishing the reliability and validity of the Matson Evaluation of Social Skills with Youngsters (MESSY) with a visually handicapped population. Age, sex, and related variables also were evaluated. In Study 1, 75 severely visually impaired persons (ages 9-22) who were receiving services for the visually handicapped were evaluated. A number of adaptations to the scale (providing the in formation in large print and on audio cassettes) were made to insure that self-report as well as teacher-report data could be obtained. Internal reliability were all .78 or above on either the teacher- or self-report versions. Study 2 used the same population but aimed at evaluating the differences on various demographic variables of this visually handicapped sample. Age differences were not apparent but six differences and groupings by placement classroom showed significant differences. Visual acuity did not markedly effect differences in social behavior but this may have been due to the relatively severe visual impairments of all the persons studied. The final study compared children and youth matched on age and sex with a total sample of 45 visually handicapped and 45 non-handicapped persons. Analyses of variance showed several differences between these groups on social behavior. The implications of these findings and future directions for research are discussed.