View in EDS HTML Full Text PDF Full Text

Convergent and Discriminant Validity of the Verbal Behavior Milestones Assessment and Placement Program (VB-MAPP) and the Vineland Adaptive Behavior Scales (VABS)

Saved in:
Bibliographic Details
Title: Convergent and Discriminant Validity of the Verbal Behavior Milestones Assessment and Placement Program (VB-MAPP) and the Vineland Adaptive Behavior Scales (VABS)
Language: English
Authors: Amin D. Lotfizadeh (ORCID 0000-0002-2784-4356), Brendan Gard, Cynthia Rico, Alan Poling, Kristen R. Choi
Source: Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders. 2025 55(3):803-811.
Availability: Springer. Available from: Springer Nature. One New York Plaza, Suite 4600, New York, NY 10004. Tel: 800-777-4643; Tel: 212-460-1500; Fax: 212-460-1700; e-mail: customerservice@springernature.com; Web site: https://link.springer.com/
Peer Reviewed: Y
Page Count: 9
Publication Date: 2025
Document Type: Journal Articles
Reports - Research
Descriptors: Adjustment (to Environment), Behavior Rating Scales, Autism Spectrum Disorders, Test Validity, Language Skills, Interpersonal Competence, Daily Living Skills, Correlation, Scores, Comparative Analysis, Verbal Development, Psychometrics
Assessment and Survey Identifiers: Vineland Adaptive Behavior Scales
DOI: 10.1007/s10803-024-06241-5
ISSN: 0162-3257
1573-3432
Abstract: Behavior analysts frequently use the Verbal Behavior Milestones Assessment and Placement Program (VB-MAPP) to assess the language and social skills of children with autism in everyday practice and in research. Despite the widespread use of the VB-MAPP, its psychometric characteristics have not been extensively investigated. To provide information about its convergent validity, we calculated correlations between scores earned by 235 children with autism on the VB-MAPP and the Vineland Adaptive Behavior Scale (VABS), a commonly used assessment with good reliability and validity. We obtained moderate or strong positive correlations between the VB-MAPP Milestones score and VABS Communication, Socialization, and Daily Living Skills subdomains. There was also a strong positive correlation between the VB-MAPP Milestones score and VABS overall raw score. These findings suggest that the VB-MAPP Milestones Assessment measures aspects of social and communicative behavior comparable to those indexed by these VABS subdomains which, like prior findings, supports the use of the Milestones Assessment. No significant relationship was observed between the VB-MAPP Barriers score and the VABS Internalizing, Externalizing, or overall Maladaptive Behavior scores. These findings, like prior findings, question the value of the VB-MAPP's Barriers Assessment as a measure of maladaptive behavior.
Abstractor: As Provided
Entry Date: 2025
Accession Number: EJ1460745
Database: ERIC
Full text is not displayed to guests.
FullText Links:
  – Type: pdflink
    Url: https://content.ebscohost.com/cds/retrieve?content=AQICAHj0k_4E0hTGH8RJwT4gCJyBsGNe_WN95AvKlDbXJGqwxwECXQSu8S5dHBPwV_pR0XqWAAAA4zCB4AYJKoZIhvcNAQcGoIHSMIHPAgEAMIHJBgkqhkiG9w0BBwEwHgYJYIZIAWUDBAEuMBEEDNbSpyt0FdY3JF3zcAIBEICBm0VjubefkvUmuiydgk-5GqtfQiC4RlYyb2FKa3b6zIJMlM4YvRiQsUaUvh9z4bQND3NdfrP1XS1Tw7tlYU_LLWtgH7XeyMgDJW3YEHly2qdgFgDVPC9aM2_GU_DyhsUlcWkn08JzjKp7RoCQHn57grAGS_5Eb6X69A6mJ-vBSv8N8ZCzGBB6Y784nyN__b4l6IM4gxiDcBfvAi1G
Text:
  Availability: 1
  Value: <anid>AN0183072052;aut01mar.25;2025Feb19.02:51;v2.2.500</anid> <title id="AN0183072052-1">Convergent and Discriminant Validity of the Verbal Behavior Milestones Assessment and Placement Program (VB-MAPP) and the Vineland Adaptive Behavior Scales (VABS) </title> <p>Behavior analysts frequently use the Verbal Behavior Milestones Assessment and Placement Program (VB-MAPP) to assess the language and social skills of children with autism in everyday practice and in research. Despite the widespread use of the VB-MAPP, its psychometric characteristics have not been extensively investigated. To provide information about its convergent validity, we calculated correlations between scores earned by 235 children with autism on the VB-MAPP and the Vineland Adaptive Behavior Scale (VABS), a commonly used assessment with good reliability and validity. We obtained moderate or strong positive correlations between the VB-MAPP Milestones score and VABS Communication, Socialization, and Daily Living Skills subdomains. There was also a strong positive correlation between the VB-MAPP Milestones score and VABS overall raw score. These findings suggest that the VB-MAPP Milestones Assessment measures aspects of social and communicative behavior comparable to those indexed by these VABS subdomains which, like prior findings, supports the use of the Milestones Assessment. No significant relationship was observed between the VB-MAPP Barriers score and the VABS Internalizing, Externalizing, or overall Maladaptive Behavior scores. These findings, like prior findings, question the value of the VB-MAPP's Barriers Assessment as a measure of maladaptive behavior.</p> <p>Keywords: VB-MAPP; VABS; Convergent validity; Psychometrics; Autism assessment; Psychology and Cognitive Sciences Psychology</p> <p>Copyright comment Springer Nature or its licensor (e.g. a society or other partner) holds exclusive rights to this article under a publishing agreement with the author(s) or other rightsholder(s); author self-archiving of the accepted manuscript version of this article is solely governed by the terms of such publishing agreement and applicable law.</p> <p>Autism is characterized by social and communication deficits with restricted and repetitive behaviors (American Psychiatric Association, [<reflink idref="bib1" id="ref1">1</reflink>]). Applied behavior analysis (ABA) is a general strategy for treating autism that is supported by substantial evidence (National Autism Center, [<reflink idref="bib23" id="ref2">23</reflink>]). ABA interventions primarily focus on teaching and assessing communication and social skills (e.g., Drash et al., [<reflink idref="bib8" id="ref3">8</reflink>]; Goldsmith et al., [<reflink idref="bib10" id="ref4">10</reflink>]; Ingvarsson & Hollobaugh, [<reflink idref="bib14" id="ref5">14</reflink>]). Applied behavior analysts often use the Verbal Behavior Milestones Assessment and Placement Program (VB-MAPP; Sundberg, [<reflink idref="bib36" id="ref6">36</reflink>], [<reflink idref="bib37" id="ref7">37</reflink>]) to assess language and social skills in everyday practice and in research. For example, Padilla ([<reflink idref="bib24" id="ref8">24</reflink>]) reported that 76% of a worldwide sample of 1,428 individuals who primarily provide ABA services use the VB-MAPP, which reportedly can detect moderate treatment gains (Lotfizadeh et al., [<reflink idref="bib20" id="ref9">20</reflink>]).</p> <p>The VB-MAPP is based on Skinner's ([<reflink idref="bib30" id="ref10">30</reflink>]) analysis of verbal behavior. It is used to evaluate early social and language skills that typically emerge during the first four years of life. The VB-MAPP comprises three assessment areas: Milestones Assessment, Barriers Assessment, and Transition Assessment. It also contains a task analysis that is used to guide Individualized Education Program (IEP) goals and to develop curricula. The skills within each of the assessment areas are developmentally sequenced and assessed in such a manner. We will focus on the Milestones Assessment and Barriers Assessment, both of which are criterion-referenced and often used in clinical practice to guide curriculum development and assess learner progress.</p> <p>The VB-MAPP Milestones Assessment contains 16 domains, each composed of five to 15 specific milestones that are developmentally sequenced into three levels. Level 1 represents skills that typically emerge during the first 18 months of life; Level 2 represents skills that typically emerge between 18 and 30 months of age; and Level 3 represents skills that typically emerge between 30 and 48 months. There are a total of 170 milestones. A trained behavior analyst familiar with Skinner's ([<reflink idref="bib30" id="ref11">30</reflink>]) verbal operants (e.g., mand, tact, intraverbal, echoic, mimetic) directly probes and observes the skills in a developmentally sequential order. Each domain takes a functional approach to assessing the respective skill. For example, the <emph>mand</emph> domain is concerned with assessing the learner's ability to request various actions or items vocally or non-vocally. Early-level mands typically consist of one-word requests but higher-level mands typically consist of requests within complex sentences. Upon completion of the assessment, the assessor calculates the cumulative number of milestones that the learner exhibits and reports the total score. The Barriers Assessment is used to assess behaviors that may impede learning. The Barriers Assessment contains 24 separate questions related to potential barriers. A 4-point Likert scale is used to indicate the severity of each potential barrier. A cumulative Barriers Assessment score of 0–96 can be obtained; higher scores indicate the presence of more obstacles to learning.</p> <p>Despite the popularity of the VB-MAPP in clinical practice and its recent use in autism outcomes research, its psychometric characteristics have not been extensively evaluated and little is known about its reliability and validity, which is a weakness of the instrument (Gould et al., [<reflink idref="bib11" id="ref12">11</reflink>]; Montallana et al., [<reflink idref="bib22" id="ref13">22</reflink>]; Padilla et al., [<reflink idref="bib26" id="ref14">26</reflink>]). It appears that only four published studies have evaluated its psychometric properties (Dixon et al., [<reflink idref="bib7" id="ref15">7</reflink>]; Mason et al., [<reflink idref="bib21" id="ref16">21</reflink>]; Montallana et al., [<reflink idref="bib22" id="ref17">22</reflink>]; Padilla & Akers, [<reflink idref="bib25" id="ref18">25</reflink>]).</p> <p>Montallana et al. ([<reflink idref="bib22" id="ref19">22</reflink>]) assessed the inter-rater reliability of the VB-MAPP Milestones and Barriers Assessments. A pair of independent behavior analysts administered the VB-MAPP to learners within two weeks of one another. The researchers measured the correlation between the two scores for individual items and concluded that most milestones had moderate reliability. However, most items in the Barriers Assessment had poor reliability (i.e., low inter-rated agreement).</p> <p>To analyze the content validity of the VB-MAPP, Padilla and Akers ([<reflink idref="bib25" id="ref20">25</reflink>]) had 13 experts "evaluate domain relevance, age appropriateness, method of measurement appropriateness, and domain representation across the three levels of the Milestones Assessment, Early Echoic Skills Assessment (EESA), and Barriers Assessment" (p. 4054). The results suggested that, in general, content validity was moderate to strong.</p> <p>Mason et al. ([<reflink idref="bib21" id="ref21">21</reflink>]) used the VB-MAPP to assess the functional language of five participants with autism across four verbal operants (mands, tacts, intraverbals, echoics). They also measured performance of these operants using a functional assessment procedure derived from Lerman et al. ([<reflink idref="bib19" id="ref22">19</reflink>]) that Mason et al. termed "verbal operant analysis" (VOA). They found that the VOA and VB-MAPP assessments often yielded dissimilar results, with the former characteristically indicating higher levels of performance. Therefore, treatment recommendations for children might well differ, depending on whether their verbal behavior was assessed with the VB-MAPP or the VOA.</p> <p>Dixon et al. ([<reflink idref="bib7" id="ref23">7</reflink>]) administered the VB-MAPP, the PEAK Direct Training (PEAK-DT) assessment (Dixon et al., [<reflink idref="bib6" id="ref24">6</reflink>]), and the PEAK generalization assessment (PEAK-G) to 40 students with autism. They reported statistically significant correlations between the VB-MAPP and the PEAK assessments. Dixon et al. concluded that the VB-MAPP served as a predictor of combined PEAK assessment scores. It is not clear, however, if the same individual administered all the assessments for a student and how closely in time they were administered. Both variables can influence the concordance between measures. For example, if the second assessment was administered months after the first one, the second measure was likely to be inflated due to learning or maturity, which would have reduced the concordance across the measures. In addition, there were no measures of divergence to ascertain the convergent validity of the assessments. Lastly, the PEAK assessment has been used to a lesser extent than other psychometrically validated assessment tools in autism research. To assess convergent validity of the VB-MAPP adequately, it should be compared with other, well established, assessments that appear to measure similar constructs (i.e., aspects of behavior).</p> <p>One of the most utilized skills assessment tools in autism interventions is the Vineland Adaptive Behavior Scale (VABS) (Sparrow & Cicchetti, [<reflink idref="bib32" id="ref25">32</reflink>]; Sparrow et al., [<reflink idref="bib33" id="ref26">33</reflink>], [<reflink idref="bib34" id="ref27">34</reflink>]), which was used by 34% of 1,428 behavior analysts surveyed by Padilla ([<reflink idref="bib24" id="ref28">24</reflink>]). The VABS has also appeared in numerous peer-reviewed studies that have evaluated adaptive skills for autistic individuals. For example, Ridout and Eldevik ([<reflink idref="bib29" id="ref29">29</reflink>]) conducted a literature review on measures used in autism outcomes research. Out of 43 articles that met their inclusionary criterion, 39 indicated the VABS was the measurement instrument for adaptive living skills. Only four articles included a secondary measure of adaptive functioning in addition to the VABS.</p> <p>The VABS is a norm-referenced adaptive behavior assessment tool that measures adaptive living skills across the lifespan. The VABS comprises four domains: the Communication domain, Daily Living Skills domain, Socialization domain, and Motor Skills domain. There is also a Maladaptive Behavior Index domain that can be used to assess problem behaviors. The VABS is administered to an individual familiar with the person being assessed in an interview format, with different forms designated for different interviewees. Each question is scored on a three-point Likert-scale with a score of "2" indicating that a skill always occurs, a score of "1" indicating that it sometimes occurs, and "0" indicating that it never or seldom occurs. Each domain that is assessed yields a raw score that can be converted into a standard score, which can be compared with the normative samples. An Adaptive Behavior Composite (ABC) score also is obtained. For the Maladaptive Behavior scale score, a higher score indicates more maladaptive behaviors.</p> <p>Several studies have evaluated the psychometric properties of the VABS- I, II, and III and they have proven to have appropriate psychometric properties (e.g., Perry & Factor, [<reflink idref="bib27" id="ref30">27</reflink>]). The psychometric properties of VABS-I indicate excellent reliability and validity (Sparrow et al., [<reflink idref="bib31" id="ref31">31</reflink>]). Similar conclusions have been obtained for the most recent version (VABS-III). For example, the VABS-III has excellent internal consistency, adequate test–retest reliability (e.g., <emph>r</emph> = 0.64 to 0.94), and good construct validity (<emph>r</emph> = 0.83) (Sparrow et al., [<reflink idref="bib34" id="ref32">34</reflink>]). Farmer et al. ([<reflink idref="bib9" id="ref33">9</reflink>]) assessed the concordance between VABS-III and VABS-II for a sample of 12.7- and 16.7-year-old participants and found concordance between the two versions of the VABS.</p> <p>A VABS domain of interest for our purposes is the Communication domain. The VABS's Communication domain milestones are categorized within a non-Skinnerian framework, whereas the VB-MAPP is based on such a framework. Although the categorizations within each of the assessments are different, both tools assess similar communicative behaviors. The VABS Communication domain consists of the Expressive, Receptive, and Written subdomains. In contrast, the VB-MAPP evaluates specific verbal operants that fall within the three VABS Communications subdomains. For example, the VB-MAPP does not have domains or subdomains labeled as expressive and receptive, but the specific milestones within the mand and tact domains in the VB-MAPP are comparable to the milestones listed in the Expressive Communication subdomains of the VABS. The VB-MAPP also contains a domain titled <emph>Writing</emph>, which is comparable to the VABS Written subdomain skills. Therefore, the VABS Communication domain and the VB-MAPP assessment index similar constructs and they should serve as an appropriate index of convergence. In addition, given the correlation between expressive language skills and adaptive living skills on the VABS-II (Soriano et al., [<reflink idref="bib5" id="ref34">5</reflink>]), the VB-MAPP Milestones scores should also be closely related to the milestones that assess adaptive living skills on the VABS-II. Of the three VABS assessments, the psychometric properties of the VABS-II have been studied most extensively and it has been used most in longitudinal ABA outcomes research (Ridout & Eldevik, [<reflink idref="bib29" id="ref35">29</reflink>]).</p> <p>Given the favorable psychometric properties of the VABS-II and its frequent administration in autism research and practice (Stolte et al., [<reflink idref="bib35" id="ref36">35</reflink>]), it is of interest to compare VABS-II scores to VB-MAPP scores. The VABS and VB-MAPP assess similar constructs, hence comparing the two provides an index of convergent validity. The purpose of the present study was to obtain that information. As Padilla et al. ([<reflink idref="bib26" id="ref37">26</reflink>]) recently pointed out, further research is needed to provide strong evidence supporting the use of the VB-MAPP.</p> <hd id="AN0183072052-2">Method</hd> <p></p> <hd id="AN0183072052-3">Participants</hd> <p>We utilized archival clinical assessment data for clients who received ABA assessments at the organization affiliated with the first author. That organization, located in the western United States of American, provides a wide range of clinical services for individuals with autism at multiple locations. We conducted a power analysis with an effect size of 0.2, alpha of 0.05, and 80% power for a correlation based on the method described by Kang ([<reflink idref="bib16" id="ref38">16</reflink>]), which indicated a sample size of 150 participants. The inclusionary criteria consisted of individuals with a primary or secondary diagnosis of autism (based on the DSM-V categorization) who had received a VABS and VB-MAPP assessment within 30 days of one another by the same clinician. A total of 235 individuals met these criteria and their archival data were analyzed. The participants' ages ranged from three years to nine years (<emph>M</emph> = 4.2 years, <emph>SD</emph> = 1.4). This sample consisted of 77.4% boys (n = 182) and 22.6% girls (n = 53). There were no significant gender differences in VB-MAPP or VABS ABC standard scores by gender (<emph>p</emph> = 0.704 and <emph>p</emph> = 0.08, respectively). The average VB-MAPP Milestones score for the sample was 60.0 (<emph>SD</emph> = 34.1); the average VABS ABC standard score was 68.2 (<emph>SD</emph> = 10.2). Other subdomain score averages are shown in Table 1.</p> <p>Table 1 Sample description (N = 235)</p> <p> <ephtml> <table frame="hsides" rules="groups"><thead><tr><th align="left" colspan="2"><p>Demographics</p></th></tr></thead><tbody><tr><td align="left"><p>Age</p></td><td align="left"><p>n (%)</p></td></tr><tr><td align="left"><p> 3–4 years</p></td><td align="left"><p>99 (42.1%)</p></td></tr><tr><td align="left"><p> 4–5 years</p></td><td align="left"><p>65 (27.7%)</p></td></tr><tr><td align="left"><p> 5–6 years</p></td><td align="left"><p>35 (14.9%)</p></td></tr><tr><td align="left"><p> 6–7 years</p></td><td align="left"><p>16 (6.8%)</p></td></tr><tr><td align="left"><p> 7–8 years</p></td><td align="left"><p>10 (4.3%)</p></td></tr><tr><td align="left"><p> 8–9 years</p></td><td align="left"><p>7 (3%)</p></td></tr><tr><td align="left"><p> 9–10 years</p></td><td align="left"><p>3 (1.3%)</p></td></tr><tr><td align="left"><p>Gender</p></td><td align="left" /></tr><tr><td align="left"><p> Boys</p></td><td align="left"><p>182 (77.1%)</p></td></tr><tr><td align="left"><p> Girls</p></td><td align="left"><p>53 (22.5%)</p></td></tr><tr><td align="left"><p>VB-MAPP scores</p></td><td align="left"><p>M (SD)</p></td></tr><tr><td align="left"><p> Avg. milestones score</p></td><td align="left"><p>60 (34.1)</p></td></tr><tr><td align="left"><p> Avg. barriers score</p></td><td align="left"><p>32 (19.5)</p></td></tr><tr><td align="left"><p>VABS scores</p></td><td align="left" /></tr><tr><td align="left"><p> ABC standard score</p></td><td align="left"><p>68.2 (10.2)</p></td></tr><tr><td align="left"><p> Communication raw score</p></td><td align="left"><p>102.1 (40.4)</p></td></tr><tr><td align="left"><p> Socialization raw score</p></td><td align="left"><p>74.9 (30.2)</p></td></tr><tr><td align="left"><p> Daily living skills raw score</p></td><td align="left"><p>62.8 (28)</p></td></tr><tr><td align="left"><p> Motor raw score</p></td><td align="left"><p>106.4 (16.4)</p></td></tr><tr><td align="left"><p> Maladaptive behavior raw score</p></td><td align="left"><p>11.9 (6.2)</p></td></tr></tbody></table> </ephtml> </p> <p> <emph>VB-MAPP</emph> Verbal Behavior Milestones Assessment and Placement Program, <emph>VABS</emph> Vineland Adaptive Behavior Scales, <emph>ABC</emph> Adaptive Behavior Composite. One participant did not have a specified gender</p> <hd id="AN0183072052-4">Materials</hd> <p>The assessors used the VABS-II (Sparrow et al., [<reflink idref="bib33" id="ref39">33</reflink>]) Comprehensive Interview Form, with the addition of the Maladaptive Behavior Index and Motor Skills domain for some participants who had a need for an assessment in these domains. Although there were some VABS-III assessments available, we selected the VABS-II as the comparison because (a) the clinicians had extensive experience and training with the VABS-II and less so with the VABS-III when the study was conducted, (b) the psychometric properties of the VABS-II have been studied more extensively than the VABS-III, and (c) given the high correlation of VABS-II and VABS-III measures (Farmer et al., [<reflink idref="bib9" id="ref40">9</reflink>]), the results of any comparisons with the VABS-II should also hold true for the VABS-III. The assessors also used the VB-MAPP (Sundberg, [<reflink idref="bib36" id="ref41">36</reflink>]) assessment protocol. Both assessments were conducted on an encrypted laptop computer using the appropriate software designated for each assessment. The researchers transferred the assessment results onto a Microsoft Excel® spreadsheet. All analyses were performed using the R statistics package, version 4.2.1.</p> <hd id="AN0183072052-5">Setting</hd> <p>Both assessments were conducted as part of regularly scheduled annual ABA assessments for individuals referred to the organization by a large insurance company in Southern California. The assessors obtained information from the participants' primary caretakers, who were in daily contact with the participants. The assessments were conducted in the setting where ABA interventions were implemented, typically in the participants' daily living environments.</p> <hd id="AN0183072052-6">Procedures</hd> <p>The researchers obtained the VABS and VB-MAPP data through an internal data retrieval process designed for the organization and transferred the numbers to a Microsoft Excel® spreadsheet. The archival data were obtained from assessment reports that were completed between March 2019 and September 2019. The assessments' data were obtained from archival records of clients who had been assessed by Board Certified Behavior Analysts (BCBA®) who conducted assessments as part of their regular clinical job duties. The same BCBA® was listed on the records as the individual who administered both the VABS and VB-MAPP assessment for a particular individual within 30 days of one another. If different assessors administered the two tools or one assessor administered them more than 30 days apart, the participant was excluded from the study. The order in which the assessments were administered was determined by the assessors. The VB-MAPP data were gathered through direct observations of the client, and the VABS data were gathered through caregiver interviews.</p> <p>The BCBA® assessors were trained to conduct the VB-MAPP and VABS assessment as part of the onboarding training with the organization. The onboarding training consisted of at least 48 h of didactic training with role-play scenarios and practice assessments. Two days were dedicated to the VB-MAPP and VABS assessments. An experienced BCBA® trainer provided the training. The training consisted of both synchronous and asynchronous online lessons with modeling and roleplay scenarios embedded within them. Training sessions also included administrative procedures related to conducting assessments and a review of each assessment tool. The VB-MAPP specific training focused on the implementation of the Milestones assessment and Barriers assessment and incorporating the assessment results into treatment planning. The VABS specific training focused on building rapport, conducting parent interviews, scoring the assessment, using the appropriate software to score the assessment, and treatment planning. Upon completion of the training, the assessors worked conjointly with other experienced assessors for at least two assessments. Next, an experienced mentor assessor observed the trainee for at least two assessments and provided feedback. All assessors had prior experience in conducting the VB-MAPP.</p> <p>This study was reviewed and approved as an exempt study by an appropriate Human Subjects Institutional Review Board (HSIRB) prior to implementation of any of the procedures. The clients were aware of the use of data for research purposes during intake and had the option to decline to have their data used for research purposes. Only data for clients who did not opt-out were included.</p> <hd id="AN0183072052-7">Interobserver Agreement (IOA)</hd> <p>We calculated the reliability of the data that were obtained through the automated data retrieval process and a research assistant entered them in a spreadsheet. This was done by also having a secondary researcher independently obtain data for 33.2% of the participants (n = 78). An interobserver agreement (IOA) coefficient was obtained afterwards, and a percentage reliability coefficient was calculated. This was done by first examining each pair of data points that were obtained. We then tallied the total number of data points that were the same and divided it by the total number of data entry points and multiplied the result by 100. The VABS IOA coefficient was 99.8% (ranging from 95 to 100% across assessment) and the VB-MAPP IOA coefficient was 99.5% (ranging from 95 to 100% across assessment categories). The overall IOA for both was 99.7%.</p> <hd id="AN0183072052-8">Analysis</hd> <p>Descriptive statistics were used to characterize the study sample. We used independent sample <emph>t-</emph>tests to compare differences in VB-MAPP and VABS scores by gender. Then, we calculated Pearson R correlation coefficients for all VB-MAPP and VABS overall scores and sub-domain scores to assess convergent and discriminant validity in a correlation matrix. We considered R values less than 0.3 to indicate no correlation or a very weak correlation; 0.3 to 0.49 to indicate a weak correlation; 0.5 to 0.69 to indicate a moderate correlation; and greater than 0.7 to indicate a strong correlation (Hemphill, [<reflink idref="bib13" id="ref42">13</reflink>]).</p> <p>Following the development of the correlation matrix, we performed hierarchical cluster analysis on the correlation coefficients' distance matrix with agglomerative clustering to assess relatedness among score domains and sub-domains visually (Bridges, [<reflink idref="bib3" id="ref43">3</reflink>]). We considered two, three, and four-cluster solutions and ultimately selected a three-cluster solution as the best conceptual fit for related domains, as domains where we anticipated theoretical convergence/discrimination were best differentiated with a three-cluster solution. A dendrogram was generated to visualize hierarchical clusters. Finally, we developed a cluster plot using k-means cluster analysis on the same distance matrix to further visualize related score domains and sub-domains (Kassambara & Mundt, [<reflink idref="bib17" id="ref44">17</reflink>]). Three conceptually meaningful clusters were apparent in both analyses.</p> <hd id="AN0183072052-9">Results</hd> <p></p> <hd id="AN0183072052-10">Convergent Validity</hd> <p>We found moderate or strong positive correlations between the VB-MAPP Milestones score and VABS Communication, Socialization, and Daily Living Skills subdomains (<emph>p</emph> < 0.001) (Table 2). There was also a strong positive correlation between the VB-MAPP Milestones score and VABS overall raw score (R = 0.72, <emph>p</emph> < 0.001). No significant relationship was observed between the VB-MAPP Barriers score and the VABS Internalizing, Externalizing, or overall Maladaptive Behavior scores. Significant correlations, their strength, and direction are shown in Table 2.</p> <p>Table 2 Correlation Matrix of VB-MAPP and VABS Overall and Subdomain Scores</p> <p> <ephtml> <table frame="hsides" rules="groups"><thead><tr><th align="left" /><th align="left"><p>VB-MAPP barriers</p></th><th align="left"><p>VABS ABC standard score</p></th><th align="left"><p>VABS sum of all raw</p></th><th align="left"><p>VABS communication raw</p></th><th align="left"><p>VABS socialization raw</p></th><th align="left"><p>VABS daily living raw</p></th><th align="left"><p>VABS internalizing raw</p></th><th align="left"><p>VABS externalizing raw</p></th><th align="left"><p>VABS maladaptive raw</p></th><th align="left"><p>VABS motor skills raw</p></th></tr></thead><tbody><tr><td align="left"><p>VB-MAPP milestones</p></td><td align="left"><p> − 0.65**</p></td><td char="." align="char"><p>0.44**</p></td><td char="." align="char"><p>0.72**</p></td><td char="." align="char"><p>0.79**</p></td><td char="." align="char"><p>0.55**</p></td><td char="." align="char"><p>0.55**</p></td><td char="." align="char"><p>0.09</p></td><td char="." align="char"><p>0.21**</p></td><td char="." align="char"><p>0.18</p></td><td char="." align="char"><p>0.40**</p></td></tr><tr><td align="left"><p>VB-MAPP barriers</p></td><td align="left" /><td char="." align="char"><p> − 0.46**</p></td><td char="." align="char"><p> − 0.59**</p></td><td char="." align="char"><p> − 0.61**</p></td><td char="." align="char"><p> − 0.58**</p></td><td char="." align="char"><p> − 0.38**</p></td><td char="." align="char"><p>0.08</p></td><td char="." align="char"><p>0.03</p></td><td char="." align="char"><p>0.06</p></td><td char="." align="char"><p> − 0.30**</p></td></tr><tr><td align="left"><p>VABS ABC standard score</p></td><td align="left" /><td char="." align="char" /><td char="." align="char"><p>0.60**</p></td><td char="." align="char"><p>0.58**</p></td><td char="." align="char"><p>0.64**</p></td><td char="." align="char"><p>0.44**</p></td><td char="." align="char"><p> − 0.15*</p></td><td char="." align="char"><p> − 0.1</p></td><td char="." align="char"><p> − 0.15</p></td><td char="." align="char"><p>0.26**</p></td></tr><tr><td align="left"><p>VABS sum of all raw</p></td><td align="left" /><td char="." align="char" /><td char="." align="char" /><td char="." align="char"><p>0.91**</p></td><td char="." align="char"><p>0.84**</p></td><td char="." align="char"><p>0.87**</p></td><td char="." align="char"><p>0.04</p></td><td char="." align="char"><p>0.17**</p></td><td char="." align="char"><p>0.13</p></td><td char="." align="char"><p>0.72**</p></td></tr><tr><td align="left"><p>VABS communication raw</p></td><td align="left" /><td char="." align="char" /><td char="." align="char" /><td char="." align="char" /><td char="." align="char"><p>0.68**</p></td><td char="." align="char"><p>0.68**</p></td><td char="." align="char"><p>0.09</p></td><td char="." align="char"><p>0.19**</p></td><td char="." align="char"><p>0.17</p></td><td char="." align="char"><p>0.54**</p></td></tr><tr><td align="left"><p>VABS socialization raw</p></td><td align="left" /><td char="." align="char" /><td char="." align="char" /><td char="." align="char" /><td char="." align="char" /><td char="." align="char"><p>0.63**</p></td><td char="." align="char"><p> − 0.05</p></td><td char="." align="char"><p>0.06</p></td><td char="." align="char"><p>0.01</p></td><td char="." align="char"><p>0.47**</p></td></tr><tr><td align="left"><p>VABS daily living raw</p></td><td align="left" /><td char="." align="char" /><td char="." align="char" /><td char="." align="char" /><td char="." align="char" /><td char="." align="char" /><td char="." align="char"><p>0.09</p></td><td char="." align="char"><p>0.18</p></td><td char="." align="char"><p>0.16</p></td><td char="." align="char"><p>0.65**</p></td></tr><tr><td align="left"><p>VABS internalizing raw</p></td><td align="left" /><td char="." align="char" /><td char="." align="char" /><td char="." align="char" /><td char="." align="char" /><td char="." align="char" /><td char="." align="char" /><td char="." align="char"><p>0.34</p></td><td char="." align="char"><p>0.81**</p></td><td char="." align="char"><p> − 0.05</p></td></tr><tr><td align="left"><p>VABS externalizing raw</p></td><td align="left" /><td char="." align="char" /><td char="." align="char" /><td char="." align="char" /><td char="." align="char" /><td char="." align="char" /><td char="." align="char" /><td char="." align="char" /><td char="." align="char"><p>0.83**</p></td><td char="." align="char"><p>0.13</p></td></tr><tr><td align="left"><p>VABS maladaptive raw</p></td><td align="left" /><td char="." align="char" /><td char="." align="char" /><td char="." align="char" /><td char="." align="char" /><td char="." align="char" /><td char="." align="char" /><td char="." align="char" /><td char="." align="char" /><td char="." align="char"><p>0.05</p></td></tr></tbody></table> </ephtml> </p> <p> <emph>VB-MAPP</emph> Verbal Behavior Milestones Assessment and Placement Program, <emph>VABS</emph> Vineland Adaptive Behavior, <emph>ABS</emph> Adaptive Behavior Composite <sups>*</sups>P <.05, **P <.01</p> <hd id="AN0183072052-11">Discriminant Validity</hd> <p>With respect to the VB-MAPP Milestones score, there was a weak correlation with the VABS Motor raw score (R = 0.40, <emph>p</emph> < 0.01). With respect to the VB-MAPP Barriers score, there was a moderate but negative correlation with the VABS Communication raw score (R = − 0.61, <emph>p</emph> < 0.01), a moderate correlation with the VABS Socialization raw score (R = − 0.58, <emph>p</emph> < 0.01), and a weak correlation with the VABS Daily Living raw score (R = − 0.38, <emph>p</emph> < 0.01). There was a weak correlation between the VB-MAPP Barriers score and the VABS Motor raw sore (R = − 0.3, <emph>p</emph> < 0.01), which served as an index of discriminant validity. Overall, these areas of convergent and discriminant validity were apparent in the dendrogram and cluster plot (Figs. 1 and 2).</p> <p>Graph: Fig. 1 Cluster dendrogram</p> <p>Graph: Fig. 2 Cluster plots</p> <hd id="AN0183072052-12">Discussion</hd> <p>Although applied behavior analysts generally are critical of standardized assessments (e.g., Johnston et al., [<reflink idref="bib15" id="ref45">15</reflink>]; Poling et al., [<reflink idref="bib28" id="ref46">28</reflink>]), they frequently use the VB-MAPP (Padilla, [<reflink idref="bib24" id="ref47">24</reflink>]). Its widespread use suggests that the VB-MAPP has practical utility. But its technical adequacy has only recently garnered attention, with the first relevant publication, by Dixon et al. ([<reflink idref="bib7" id="ref48">7</reflink>]), appearing seven years after the VB-MAPP was introduced (Sundberg, [<reflink idref="bib36" id="ref49">36</reflink>]). Results of that study suggested that the VB-MAPP indexes aspects of behavior (constructs) comparable to those measured by assessments developed by Dixon et al. ([<reflink idref="bib6" id="ref50">6</reflink>]), namely the PEAK-G and PEAK-GT.</p> <p>To provide additional information relevant to the convergent validity of the VB-MAPP Milestones Assessment, we compared 235 children's Milestones scores with their VABS overall, communication, social skills, and daily living scores, obtaining strong or moderate correlations between the measures. Because the VB-MAPP Milestones Assessment is intended to index verbal behavior, a key component of communication (Lechago, [<reflink idref="bib18" id="ref51">18</reflink>]; Sundberg, [<reflink idref="bib38" id="ref52">38</reflink>]), it is unsurprising but heartening that there was a strong (0.79) correlation between Milestones scores and VABS Communication scores. Effective verbal behavior also makes the acquisition and performance of many daily living skills easier, which may account for the moderate correlation we obtained between VB-MAPP Milestones and VABS daily living scores. The moderate (0.68) correlation we obtained between VABS Communication and VABS Daily Living supports this possibility.</p> <p>The present findings suggest that the VB-MAPP Milestones Assessment measures aspects of social and communicative behavior comparable to those indexed by VABS subdomains designed for this purpose. That is, the instruments have strong convergent validity. Given that the VABS is a widely used instrument with good reliability and validity (e.g., Perry & Factor, [<reflink idref="bib27" id="ref53">27</reflink>]), this finding supports the continued use of the VB-MAPP Milestones Assessment. The moderate to strong interrater agreement obtained for items comprised by the instrument (Montallana et al., [<reflink idref="bib22" id="ref54">22</reflink>]) does likewise. Finally, support for the Milestones Assessment comes from our determination of divergent validity. To assess divergent validity, we determined the correlation between VB-MAPP Milestones scores and VABS Motor scores, which was low. We also determined the correlation between VB-MAPP Milestones scores and VABS Barriers scores, which was moderate. Although one would expect an inverse relationship between functional communication and problem behavior (Hagopian et al., [<reflink idref="bib12" id="ref55">12</reflink>]), we did not anticipate such an association between the VABS Communication domain and the VABS Maladaptive Behavior domains because the former does not assess functional communication. There was either a weak correlation between these two measures or no correlation at all, which provided for a suitable index of divergence with the VB-MAPP Milestones scores. The present results indicate appropriate divergence between unrelated domains of the two instruments.</p> <p>In its totality, the available evidence suggests that the Milestones Assessment is defensible. Further research is needed, however, to determine whether the relative insensitivity of the Milestones Assessment reported by Mason et al. ([<reflink idref="bib21" id="ref56">21</reflink>]) is of practical importance and to assess the kind of training needed for practitioners to use the instrument appropriately (see Barnes et al., [<reflink idref="bib2" id="ref57">2</reflink>]).</p> <p>A previous study found that the interrater reliability of most individual items on the Barriers Assessment of the VB-MAPP was low (Montallana et al., [<reflink idref="bib22" id="ref58">22</reflink>]), and its authors recommended the assessment be used with caution. The 24 behavioral domains are rated from zero (no issues) to four (a significant barrier to language acquisition). The composite Barriers Assessment score indicates the probable overall difficulty that a child will encounter in acquiring verbal behavior and individual scores target specific domains likely to pose problems. The domains differ widely. Some (e.g., absent, weak, or impaired mand control) simply reflect the absence of verbal operants quantified in the Milestones Assessment (e.g., mand). Others are concerned with the presence of specific challenging responses (e.g., self-stimulation), general patterns of responding (e.g., hyperactivity), the absence of motivation (e.g., weak or atypical motivating operations), or inappropriate learned patterns of behavior (e.g., prompt dependency). As a collective they do not form a meaningful construct and there is no published data indicating that the ease with which children acquire verbal behavior is directly correlated to their overall Barriers Assessment score.</p> <p>In the present study, correlations between Barriers scores and VABS Maladaptive Behavior raw scores (<emph>r</emph> = 0.06), Externalizing raw scores (<emph>r</emph> = 0.03), and Internalizing (0.08), all measures of maladaptive behavior, were low and not statistically significant. The absence of convergent validity between the VABS measures of maladaptive behavior and VB-MAPP Barriers scores suggests that the latter should not be construed as an index of maladaptive behavior as generally construed. The only promising finding with respect to the VB-MAPP Barriers score was that there was a statistically significant inverse correlation between the VB-MAPP Barriers score and the VABS Communication and Socialization score. Such a relation is expected because higher communication and socialization skills are associated with fewer maladaptive behaviors (Charlop‐Christy et al., [<reflink idref="bib4" id="ref59">4</reflink>]). However, the poor overall reliability of the VB-MAPP Barriers Assessment and the lack of data indicating Barriers scores relate to the acquisition of verbal behavior points to a need for substantial revision and improvement in this section of the VB-MAPP assessment tool. In its present form, the VB-MAPP Barriers Assessment does not appear sufficiently valid or reliable to be used in research or in making important decisions in everyday practice.</p> <p>The present results suggest that the VB-MAPP Milestones Assessment is a valid and reliable tool for assessing communication, and a prior study indicates that it can detect moderate improvements in communication (Lotfizadeh et al., [<reflink idref="bib20" id="ref60">20</reflink>]), which is another point in its favor. But, like the results of a prior study (Montallana et al., [<reflink idref="bib22" id="ref61">22</reflink>]) they also suggest the VB-MAPP Barriers Assessment is not an adequate tool for assessing maladaptive behaviors in clinical practice or in research. Additional studies are warranted to examine the correlation between the VB-MAPP domains and VABS sub-domains to determine if specific VABS sub-domains are better predictors of VABS domain scores.</p> <p>Although these findings offer support for the convergent validity of VABS and VB-MAPP Milestones assessment but fail to do so for the VB-MAPP Barriers assessment, the study has limitations. The primary limitation was that the order that the two assessments were administered was not counterbalanced, but rather determined by the individuals who administered the assessment. If the VABS was consistently administered prior to the VB-MAPP, an assessor may have been less likely to directly observe participants' behaviors when using the latter assessment. Future studies assessing the convergent validity of the VB-MAPP should counterbalance the order in which assessments occur. A second limitation is that despite the assessors' training and qualifications being consistent with the requirements outlined in the VB-MAPP, it may not have been sufficient to administer the Barriers assessment of the VB-MAPP appropriately. Future studies can assess this limitation by reporting the interobserver agreement scores for the Barriers. In addition, future studies should focus on the psychometric properties of the Barriers assessment as a function of how clinicians are trained to implement that portion of the VB-MAPP. Lastly, given that the VABS-II is outdated, the present study should be replicated using the VABS-III. Although there is good concordance between the VABS-II and -III, the convergence of the VB-MAPP with the VABS-III can only be inferred based on these results, therefore, additional studies are warranted.</p> <hd id="AN0183072052-13">Author Contributions</hd> <p>ADL: Study conception and design, analysis, and manuscript writeup, BG: Data collection and manuscript preperation, CR: Data collection and interobserver agreement calculation, AP: Study design and manuscript writeup, KC: Study design and data analysis.</p> <hd id="AN0183072052-14">Declarations</hd> <p></p> <hd id="AN0183072052-15">Conflict of interest</hd> <p>There were no conflicts of interest in the present study.</p> <hd id="AN0183072052-16">Publisher's Note</hd> <p>Springer Nature remains neutral with regard to jurisdictional claims in published maps and institutional affiliations.</p> <ref id="AN0183072052-17"> <title> References </title> <blist> <bibl id="bib1" idref="ref1" type="bt">1</bibl> <bibtext> American Psychiatric Association. Diagnostic and statistical manual of mental disorders. 20135; American Psychiatric Association. 10.1176/appi.books.9780890425596</bibtext> </blist> <blist> <bibl id="bib2" idref="ref57" type="bt">2</bibl> <bibtext> Barnes CS, Mellor JR, Rehfeldt RA. Implementing the verbal behavior milestones assessment and placement program (VB-MAPP): Teaching assessment techniques. Analysis of Verbal Behavior. 2014; 30: 36-47. 10.1007/s40616-013-0004-5. 27274972. 4883535</bibtext> </blist> <blist> <bibl id="bib3" idref="ref43" type="bt">3</bibl> <bibtext> Bridges CC Jr. Hierarchical cluster analysis. Psychological Reports. 1966; 18; 3: 851-854. 10.2466/pr0.1966.18.3.851</bibtext> </blist> <blist> <bibl id="bib4" idref="ref59" type="bt">4</bibl> <bibtext> Charlop-Christy MH, Carpenter M, Le L, LeBlanc LA, Kellet K. Using the picture exchange communication system (PECS) with children with autism: Assessment of PECS acquisition, speech, social-communicative behavior, and problem behavior. Journal of Applied Behavior Analysis. 2002; 35; 3: 213-231. 10.1901/jaba.2002.35-213. 12365736. 1284381</bibtext> </blist> <blist> <bibl id="bib5" idref="ref34" type="bt">5</bibl> <bibtext> del Hoyo Soriano L, Villarreal JC, Sterling A, Edgin J, Berry-Kravis E, Hamilton DR, Abbeduto L. The association between expressive language skills and adaptive behavior in individuals with Down syndrome. Scientific Reports. 2022; 12; 1: 20014. 10.1038/s41598-022-24478-x. 36411304. 9678860</bibtext> </blist> <blist> <bibl id="bib6" idref="ref24" type="bt">6</bibl> <bibtext> Dixon MR. The PEAK relational training system: Direct training module. 2014; Shawnee Scientific</bibtext> </blist> <blist> <bibl id="bib7" idref="ref15" type="bt">7</bibl> <bibtext> Dixon MR, Belisle J, Stanley C, Rowsey K, Daar JH, Szekely S. Toward a behavior analysis of complex language for children with autism: Evaluating the relationship between PEAK and the VB-MAPP. Journal of Developmental and Physical Disabilities. 2015; 27: 223-233. 10.1007/s10882-014-9410-4</bibtext> </blist> <blist> <bibl id="bib8" idref="ref3" type="bt">8</bibl> <bibtext> Drash PW, High RL, Tudor RM. Using mand training to establish an echoic repertoire in young children with autism. The Analysis of Verbal Behavior. 1999; 16; 1: 29-44. 10.1007/BF03392945. 22477156. 2748578</bibtext> </blist> <blist> <bibl id="bib9" idref="ref33" type="bt">9</bibl> <bibtext> Farmer C, Adedipe D, Bal VH, Chlebowski C, Thurm A. Concordance of the vineland adaptive behavior scales, second and third editions. Journal of Intellectual Disability Research. 2020; 64; 1: 18-26. 10.1111/jir.12691. 31657503</bibtext> </blist> <blist> <bibtext> Goldsmith TR, LeBlanc LA, Sautter RA. Teaching intraverbal behavior to children with autism. Research in Autism Spectrum Disorders. 2007; 1; 1: 1-13. 10.1016/j.rasd.2006.07.001</bibtext> </blist> <blist> <bibtext> Gould E, Dixon DR, Najdowski AC, Smith MN, Tarbox J. A review of assessments for determining the content of early intensive behavioral intervention programs for autism spectrum disorders. Research in Autism Spectrum Disorders. 2011; 5; 3: 990-1002. 10.1016/j.rasd.2011.01.012</bibtext> </blist> <blist> <bibtext> Hagopian LP, Fisher WW, Sullivan MT, Acquisto J, LeBlanc LA. Effectiveness of functional communication training with and without extinction and punishment: A summary of 21 inpatient cases. Journal of Applied Behavior Analysis. 1998; 31; 2: 211-235. 10.1901/jaba.1998.31-211. 9652101. 1284113</bibtext> </blist> <blist> <bibtext> Hemphill JF. Interpreting the magnitudes of correlation coefficients. American Psychologist. 2003; 58; 1: 78-79. 10.1037/0003-066X.58.1.78. 12674822</bibtext> </blist> <blist> <bibtext> Ingvarsson ET, Hollobaugh T. Acquisition of intraverbal behavior: Teaching children with autism to mand for answers to questions. Journal of Applied Behavior Analysis. 2010; 43; 1: 1-17. 10.1901/jaba.2010.43-1. 20808492. 2831436</bibtext> </blist> <blist> <bibtext> Johnston JM, Pennypacker HS, Green G. Strategies and tactics of behavioral research and practice. 20204; Routledge</bibtext> </blist> <blist> <bibtext> Kang H. Sample size determination and power analysis using the G* Power software. Journal of Educational Evaluation for Health Professions. 2021. 10.3352/jeehp.2021.18.17. 34551511. 8616727</bibtext> </blist> <blist> <bibtext> Kassambara A, Mundt F. Package 'factoextra'. Extract and Visualize the Results of Multivariate Data Analyses. 2017; 76; 2: 458</bibtext> </blist> <blist> <bibtext> Lechago SAHupp S, Jewell JD. Verbal behavior. The encyclopedia of child and adolescent development. 2020; Wiley: 1-11</bibtext> </blist> <blist> <bibtext> Lerman DC, Parten M, Addison LR, Vorndran CM, Volkert VM, Kodak T. A methodology for assessing the functions of emerging speech in children with developmental disabilities. Journal of Applied Behavior Analysis. 2005; 38: 303-316. 10.1901/jaba.2005.106-04. 16270841. 1226166</bibtext> </blist> <blist> <bibtext> Lotfizadeh AD, Kazemi E, Pompa-Craven P, Eldevik S. Moderate effects of low-intensity behavioral intervention. Behavior Modification. 2018; 44; 1: 92-113. 10.1177/0145445518796204. 30136599</bibtext> </blist> <blist> <bibtext> Mason LL, Sawchak A, Scott CS, Andrews A, Arriaga A, Pena H. A comparison of outcomes from criterion-referenced and experimental evaluations of verbal behavior. Behavioral Development. 2018; 23; 2: 118-129. 10.1037/bdb0000080</bibtext> </blist> <blist> <bibtext> Montallana KL, Gard BM, Lotfizadeh AD, Poling A. Inter-rater agreement for the milestones and barriers assessments of the verbal behavior milestones assessment and placement program (VB-MAPP). Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders. 2019; 49; 5: 2015-2023. 10.1007/s10803-019-03879-4. 30661147</bibtext> </blist> <blist> <bibtext> National Autism Center. Findings and conclusions: National standards project (phase 2). 2015; Author</bibtext> </blist> <blist> <bibtext> Padilla KL. Global assessment use and practices in applied behavior analysis: Surveying the field. Research in Autism Spectrum Disorders. 2020. 10.1016/j.rasd.2020.101676</bibtext> </blist> <blist> <bibtext> Padilla KL, Akers JS. Content validity evidence for the verbal behavior milestones assessment and placement program. Journal of Autism and Development Disorders. 2021; 51: 4054-4066. 10.1007/s10803-020-04864-y</bibtext> </blist> <blist> <bibtext> Padilla KL, Weston R, Morgan GB, Lively P, O'Guinn N. Validity and reliability evidence for assessments based on applied behavior analysis: A systematic review. Behavior Modification. 2023; 47; 1: 247-288. 10.1177/01454455221098151. 35792495</bibtext> </blist> <blist> <bibtext> Perry A, Factor DC. Psychometric validity and clinical usefulness of the Vineland Adaptive Behavior Scales and the AAMD Adaptive Behavior Scale for an autistic sample. Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders. 1989; 19; 1: 41-55. 10.1007/BF02212717. 2708303</bibtext> </blist> <blist> <bibtext> Poling A, Methot L, LeSage M. Fundamentals of behavior analytic research. 1995; Plenum Press. 10.1007/978-1-4899-1436-1</bibtext> </blist> <blist> <bibtext> Ridout S, Eldevik S. Measures used to assess treatment outcomes in children with autism receiving early and intensive behavioral interventions: A review. Review Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders. 2023. 10.1007/s40489-023-00355-9</bibtext> </blist> <blist> <bibtext> Skinner BF. Verbal behavior. 1957; Appleton-Century-Crofts. 10.1037/11256-000</bibtext> </blist> <blist> <bibtext> Sparrow SS, Balla D, Cicchetti DV. Vineland adaptive behavior scales (Survey Form). 1984; American Guidance Service</bibtext> </blist> <blist> <bibtext> Sparrow SS, Cicchetti DV. The Vineland adaptive behavior scales. 1989; Allyn & Bacon</bibtext> </blist> <blist> <bibtext> Sparrow SS, Cicchetti DV, Balla DA. Vineland-ii: Vineland adaptive behaviour scales, survey forms manual. 2005; Pearson</bibtext> </blist> <blist> <bibtext> Sparrow SS, Cicchetti DV, Saulnier CA. Vineland adaptive behavior scales, Third Edition (Vineland-3). 2016; Pearson</bibtext> </blist> <blist> <bibtext> Stolte M, Hodgetts S, Smith V. A critical review of outcome measures used to evaluate the effectiveness of comprehensive, community based treatment for young children with ASD. Research in Autism Spectrum Disorders. 2016; 23: 221-234. 10.1016/j.rasd.2015.12.009</bibtext> </blist> <blist> <bibtext> Sundberg ML. Verbal behavior milestones assessment and placement program: The VB-MAPP. 2008; AVB Press</bibtext> </blist> <blist> <bibtext> Sundberg ML. The verbal behavior milestones assessment and placement program: The VB-MAPP. 20142; AVB Press</bibtext> </blist> <blist> <bibtext> Sundberg MLCooper JO, Heron TE, Heward WL. Verbal behavior. Applied behavior analysis. 20203; Pearson: 412-449</bibtext> </blist> </ref> <aug> <p>By Amin D. Lotfizadeh; Brendan Gard; Cynthia Rico; Alan Poling and Kristen R. Choi</p> <p>Reported by Author; Author; Author; Author; Author</p> </aug> <nolink nlid="nl1" bibid="bib23" firstref="ref2"></nolink> <nolink nlid="nl2" bibid="bib10" firstref="ref4"></nolink> <nolink nlid="nl3" bibid="bib14" firstref="ref5"></nolink> <nolink nlid="nl4" bibid="bib36" firstref="ref6"></nolink> <nolink nlid="nl5" bibid="bib37" firstref="ref7"></nolink> <nolink nlid="nl6" bibid="bib24" firstref="ref8"></nolink> <nolink nlid="nl7" bibid="bib20" firstref="ref9"></nolink> <nolink nlid="nl8" bibid="bib30" firstref="ref10"></nolink> <nolink nlid="nl9" bibid="bib11" firstref="ref12"></nolink> <nolink nlid="nl10" bibid="bib22" firstref="ref13"></nolink> <nolink nlid="nl11" bibid="bib26" firstref="ref14"></nolink> <nolink nlid="nl12" bibid="bib21" firstref="ref16"></nolink> <nolink nlid="nl13" bibid="bib25" firstref="ref18"></nolink> <nolink nlid="nl14" bibid="bib19" firstref="ref22"></nolink> <nolink nlid="nl15" bibid="bib32" firstref="ref25"></nolink> <nolink nlid="nl16" bibid="bib33" firstref="ref26"></nolink> <nolink nlid="nl17" bibid="bib34" firstref="ref27"></nolink> <nolink nlid="nl18" bibid="bib29" firstref="ref29"></nolink> <nolink nlid="nl19" bibid="bib27" firstref="ref30"></nolink> <nolink nlid="nl20" bibid="bib31" firstref="ref31"></nolink> <nolink nlid="nl21" bibid="bib35" firstref="ref36"></nolink> <nolink nlid="nl22" bibid="bib16" firstref="ref38"></nolink> <nolink nlid="nl23" bibid="bib13" firstref="ref42"></nolink> <nolink nlid="nl24" bibid="bib17" firstref="ref44"></nolink> <nolink nlid="nl25" bibid="bib15" firstref="ref45"></nolink> <nolink nlid="nl26" bibid="bib28" firstref="ref46"></nolink> <nolink nlid="nl27" bibid="bib18" firstref="ref51"></nolink> <nolink nlid="nl28" bibid="bib38" firstref="ref52"></nolink> <nolink nlid="nl29" bibid="bib12" firstref="ref55"></nolink>
Header DbId: eric
DbLabel: ERIC
An: EJ1460745
AccessLevel: 3
PubType: Academic Journal
PubTypeId: academicJournal
PreciseRelevancyScore: 0
IllustrationInfo
Items – Name: Title
  Label: Title
  Group: Ti
  Data: Convergent and Discriminant Validity of the Verbal Behavior Milestones Assessment and Placement Program (VB-MAPP) and the Vineland Adaptive Behavior Scales (VABS)
– Name: Language
  Label: Language
  Group: Lang
  Data: English
– Name: Author
  Label: Authors
  Group: Au
  Data: <searchLink fieldCode="AR" term="%22Amin+D%2E+Lotfizadeh%22">Amin D. Lotfizadeh</searchLink> (ORCID <externalLink term="http://orcid.org/0000-0002-2784-4356">0000-0002-2784-4356</externalLink>)<br /><searchLink fieldCode="AR" term="%22Brendan+Gard%22">Brendan Gard</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="AR" term="%22Cynthia+Rico%22">Cynthia Rico</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="AR" term="%22Alan+Poling%22">Alan Poling</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="AR" term="%22Kristen+R%2E+Choi%22">Kristen R. Choi</searchLink>
– Name: TitleSource
  Label: Source
  Group: Src
  Data: <searchLink fieldCode="SO" term="%22Journal+of+Autism+and+Developmental+Disorders%22"><i>Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders</i></searchLink>. 2025 55(3):803-811.
– Name: Avail
  Label: Availability
  Group: Avail
  Data: Springer. Available from: Springer Nature. One New York Plaza, Suite 4600, New York, NY 10004. Tel: 800-777-4643; Tel: 212-460-1500; Fax: 212-460-1700; e-mail: customerservice@springernature.com; Web site: https://link.springer.com/
– Name: PeerReviewed
  Label: Peer Reviewed
  Group: SrcInfo
  Data: Y
– Name: Pages
  Label: Page Count
  Group: Src
  Data: 9
– Name: DatePubCY
  Label: Publication Date
  Group: Date
  Data: 2025
– Name: TypeDocument
  Label: Document Type
  Group: TypDoc
  Data: Journal Articles<br />Reports - Research
– Name: Subject
  Label: Descriptors
  Group: Su
  Data: <searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Adjustment+%28to+Environment%29%22">Adjustment (to Environment)</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Behavior+Rating+Scales%22">Behavior Rating Scales</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Autism+Spectrum+Disorders%22">Autism Spectrum Disorders</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Test+Validity%22">Test Validity</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Language+Skills%22">Language Skills</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Interpersonal+Competence%22">Interpersonal Competence</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Daily+Living+Skills%22">Daily Living Skills</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Correlation%22">Correlation</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Scores%22">Scores</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Comparative+Analysis%22">Comparative Analysis</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Verbal+Development%22">Verbal Development</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Psychometrics%22">Psychometrics</searchLink>
– Name: SubjectThesaurus
  Label: Assessment and Survey Identifiers
  Group: Su
  Data: <searchLink fieldCode="SU" term="%22Vineland+Adaptive+Behavior+Scales%22">Vineland Adaptive Behavior Scales</searchLink>
– Name: DOI
  Label: DOI
  Group: ID
  Data: 10.1007/s10803-024-06241-5
– Name: ISSN
  Label: ISSN
  Group: ISSN
  Data: 0162-3257<br />1573-3432
– Name: Abstract
  Label: Abstract
  Group: Ab
  Data: Behavior analysts frequently use the Verbal Behavior Milestones Assessment and Placement Program (VB-MAPP) to assess the language and social skills of children with autism in everyday practice and in research. Despite the widespread use of the VB-MAPP, its psychometric characteristics have not been extensively investigated. To provide information about its convergent validity, we calculated correlations between scores earned by 235 children with autism on the VB-MAPP and the Vineland Adaptive Behavior Scale (VABS), a commonly used assessment with good reliability and validity. We obtained moderate or strong positive correlations between the VB-MAPP Milestones score and VABS Communication, Socialization, and Daily Living Skills subdomains. There was also a strong positive correlation between the VB-MAPP Milestones score and VABS overall raw score. These findings suggest that the VB-MAPP Milestones Assessment measures aspects of social and communicative behavior comparable to those indexed by these VABS subdomains which, like prior findings, supports the use of the Milestones Assessment. No significant relationship was observed between the VB-MAPP Barriers score and the VABS Internalizing, Externalizing, or overall Maladaptive Behavior scores. These findings, like prior findings, question the value of the VB-MAPP's Barriers Assessment as a measure of maladaptive behavior.
– Name: AbstractInfo
  Label: Abstractor
  Group: Ab
  Data: As Provided
– Name: DateEntry
  Label: Entry Date
  Group: Date
  Data: 2025
– Name: AN
  Label: Accession Number
  Group: ID
  Data: EJ1460745
PLink https://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&site=eds-live&db=eric&AN=EJ1460745
RecordInfo BibRecord:
  BibEntity:
    Identifiers:
      – Type: doi
        Value: 10.1007/s10803-024-06241-5
    Languages:
      – Text: English
    PhysicalDescription:
      Pagination:
        PageCount: 9
        StartPage: 803
    Subjects:
      – SubjectFull: Adjustment (to Environment)
        Type: general
      – SubjectFull: Behavior Rating Scales
        Type: general
      – SubjectFull: Autism Spectrum Disorders
        Type: general
      – SubjectFull: Test Validity
        Type: general
      – SubjectFull: Language Skills
        Type: general
      – SubjectFull: Interpersonal Competence
        Type: general
      – SubjectFull: Daily Living Skills
        Type: general
      – SubjectFull: Correlation
        Type: general
      – SubjectFull: Scores
        Type: general
      – SubjectFull: Comparative Analysis
        Type: general
      – SubjectFull: Verbal Development
        Type: general
      – SubjectFull: Psychometrics
        Type: general
      – SubjectFull: Vineland Adaptive Behavior Scales
        Type: general
    Titles:
      – TitleFull: Convergent and Discriminant Validity of the Verbal Behavior Milestones Assessment and Placement Program (VB-MAPP) and the Vineland Adaptive Behavior Scales (VABS)
        Type: main
  BibRelationships:
    HasContributorRelationships:
      – PersonEntity:
          Name:
            NameFull: Amin D. Lotfizadeh
      – PersonEntity:
          Name:
            NameFull: Brendan Gard
      – PersonEntity:
          Name:
            NameFull: Cynthia Rico
      – PersonEntity:
          Name:
            NameFull: Alan Poling
      – PersonEntity:
          Name:
            NameFull: Kristen R. Choi
    IsPartOfRelationships:
      – BibEntity:
          Dates:
            – D: 01
              M: 03
              Type: published
              Y: 2025
          Identifiers:
            – Type: issn-print
              Value: 0162-3257
            – Type: issn-electronic
              Value: 1573-3432
          Numbering:
            – Type: volume
              Value: 55
            – Type: issue
              Value: 3
          Titles:
            – TitleFull: Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders
              Type: main
ResultId 1