Construct Validity of the Rotter Incomplete Sentences Blank With Clinic-Referred and Nonreferred Adolescents

Abstract

We examined the construct validity of the Rotter Incomplete Sentence Blank (RISB; Rotter, Lah, & Rafferty, 1992 Rotter, J. B., Lah, M. I. and Rafferty, J. E. 1992. The Rotter Incomplete Sentences Blank, second edition manual, New York: Psychological Corporation. [Google Scholar]) as a measure of psychological maladjustment in adolescents. In Study 1, we investigated the reliability and convergent and discriminant validity of the RISB with adolescents referred to treatment. In Studies 2 and 3, we examined the RISB's ability to differentiate referred and nonreferred adolescents. The RISB showed adequate interrater reliability and converged with self-reported, parent-reported, and teacher-reported social-emotional and behavioral problems. Criterion-related evidence suggests that the RISB may be useful as a screening measure for adolescents using a 135 or 140 cut score. We provide normative data to facilitate the test's use with adolescents in clinical and research settings.