Behaviour problems in people with intellectual disabilities: validation of the French version of the Behaviour Problems Inventory - Short Form.

OBJECTIVE: The risk for the development of severe behaviour problems by individuals with intellectual disability (ID) is a well-known concern. However, there are currently no reliable instruments for assessing these behaviours in French. The Behaviour Problems Inventory - Short Form (BPI-S) assesses these three types of behaviour in people with ID: self-injurious behaviour (eight items), aggressive/destructive behaviours (10 items) and stereotypic behaviours (12 items). The purpose of this study was to conduct a psychometric study of a French version of the BPI-S.

METHOD: Data were collected on 305 children, adolescents and young adults with ID 50 care workers in seven specialised institutions in France as informants. We examined the scale's factorial structure (using confirmatory factor analysis), internal consistency and inter-rater reliability. We also established preliminary French norms.

RESULTS: Our results show that the French BPI-S has a factorial structure similar to that of the English version. It has good internal consistency. The internal consistency of the frequency ratings was 0.91 and 0.62 for the severity ratings. The BPI-S has a good inter-rater reliability with acceptable coefficients for the frequency ratings (Self Injurious Behaviour (SIB) = 0.81; Aggressive-Destructive behaviour = 0.66; Stereotyped behaviours = 0.75) and for the severity ratings (SIB = 0.92; Aggressive-Destructive behaviour = 0.54). The data also show that the frequency and severity of behaviours differ based on the level of ID.

CONCLUSIONS: The French version of the BPI-S has good psychometric properties for assessing problem behaviours in children, adolescents and young adults. This scale can be used for research and clinical evaluation of disorders associated with ID.