Rating Scale Items: A Brief Review of Nomenclature, Components, and Formatting to Inform the Development of Direct Behavior Rating (DBR)

Ratings scales are a common component of many multisource, multimethod frameworks for socioemotional and behavior assessment of children. There is a modest literature base to support the use of attitudinal, behavioral, and personality rating scales. Much of that historic literature focuses on the characteristics and interpretations of specific scales, which are mostly Likert-type scales. There are many more scale types and item types that receive less attention within the literature and less application in practice. This article provides a brief summary of the literature relevant to formats, components, and nomenclature associated with rating scale item types. This article is intended to provide basic information that might inspire and contribute to the development and evaluation of novel rating scales with a variety of item types, especially those relevant to Direct Behavior Rating methods of assessment.