This study carried out the analysis of the criterion validity of the Brazilian version of the Social Skills Rating System (SSRS-BR). The results of a sample of 84 children with mental disability were compared with a sample of 496 children with typical development. The children and their teachers evaluated social skills, behavior problems and academic competence using the SSRS-BR. In all global scales and in most subscales the instruments of self-evaluation and evaluations done by teachers were sensitive to, significantly, differentiate children with and without mental disability in the constructs measured by the SSRS-BR. This study provides the instrument for future researches as well as for the development of evaluation procedures and intervention programs for children with mental disability.
Social skills; Mental disability; Criterion validity; Behavior problems; Children
