DEFINITION OF BEHAVIORAL AND PSYCHOSOCIAL ASSESSMENT TOOLS

Some cross-sectional, population-based studies of children and adolescents report little to no
differences on standardized psychosocial or behavioral assessment measures in obese and nonobese
subjects, whereas many reports have documented significant differences between these groups. The
same is true when examining longitudinal, population-based studies of obese versus nonobese
children and adolescents. Some researchers have reported significant differences, particularly in
adolescent females, whereas others have failed to observe significant differences between groups.
There are also discrepancies in data collected from clinic-referred samples of obese children and
adolescents. Some researchers report little to no differences, yet most researchers have reported
significant differences. The discrepancies found in these studies have been postulated to relate to
differences in the study group’s social status, age, sex, ethnicity, geographic region, and parental
factors, and even recent trends toward a heavier population of children and adolescents. This
controversy is compounded by the fact that many of the reviewed studies have failed to use
standardized or psychometrically sound psychosocial or behavioral measures. In addition, in some
cases, the standardized assessment used across studies has been abbreviated, dissimilar, or a newer
version of the original measure. This chapter summarizes standardized behavioral and psychosocial instruments that have been
widely used in baseline and follow-up assessment of overweight children and adolescents in both
population-based and clinic-referred samples. This is not meant to be a comprehensive listing of
behavioral or psychosocial assessment instruments available to clinicians but, instead, details those
assessments that have been most widely used to date. Though standardized, psychometrically sound
assessments take 10 to 15 minutes to complete, future research should attempt to use these measures,
when possible, to allow for more accurate comparisons within and between study groups.