The Emotional Development Scale: Assessing the Emotional Capacity of 4–12 Year Olds

Abstract

ABSTRACT The practice of assessing children’s emotional development based on a theoretical foundation of attachment theory, developmental psychology, and brain research is fast developing within the field of clinical psychology and family social work. The Emotional Development Scale (EDS) has been developed to assess the current emotional functioning level of 4–12 year olds within the theoretical framework of neuroaffective developmental psychology. Included in the pilot study were eight family treatment centers in Denmark, with 36 families participating. The psychometric investigation included analyses of interrater reliability, test-retest reliability, and internal consistency, while construct validity was analyzed by correlating EDS results between referred and nonreferred groups. The analysis between nonreferred and referred groups was based on the data from the empirical study and a preliminary ad hoc sample from Hogrefe Ltd. (n = 213). We concluded the EDS appears to be a reliable and partially valid tool that could aid in assessing the emotional development of 4–12 year olds. Further research on psychometric properties and clinical application of EDS is needed.