Investigating the impact of strength-based assessment on youth with emotional or behavioral disorders

The use of strength-based assessment for identifying emotional and behavioral capacities has been proposed as a means of enhancing mental health service delivery to children and adolescents. This study examined the proximal and distal outcomes associated with strength-based assessment performed with the Behavioral and Emotional Rating Scale (BERS: Epstein & Sharma, 1998). Eighty-four youth were randomly assigned to receive either the BERS-guided assessment or the usual deficit-based assessment protocol. Findings indicate that outcomes were not significantly better in cases where the BERS was administered to parents. However, the incorporation of BERS results into treatment did contribute significantly to treatment retention and parent satisfaction with services. In addition, the therapist's orientation toward strength-based practice was found to modify child functioning outcomes attributable to the use of this strength-based assessment tool. These results highlight the importance of accounting for provider effects and maintaining treatment fidelity in studies of mental health treatment effectiveness.