Resumen de Behavioral and emotional strength-based assessment of finnish elementary students: psychometrics of the BERS-2

Erkko Tapio Sointu, Hannu Savolainen, Matthew C. Lambert, Kristiina Lappalainen, Michael H. Epstein

• When rating scales are used in different countries, thorough investigation of the psychometric properties is needed. We examined the internal structure of the Finnish translated Behavioral and Emotional Rating Scale-2 (BERS-2) using Rasch and confirmatory factor analysis approaches with a sample of youth, parents, and teachers. The results suggested that the Finnish translated BERS-2 has acceptable measurement properties and is suitable for use in Finnish schools. Results highlighted the issue that there is a need to consider cross-cultural aspects when introducing new measures in another culture. Directions for future research are also discussed in light of present findings.