Teachers’ assessment of physical aggression with the preschool behavior questionnaire: a multitrait-multimethod evaluation of convergent and discriminant validity

The distinctiveness of physical aggression from other antisocial behavior is widely accepted but little research has explicitly focused on young children to empirically test this assumption. A Multitrait-Multimethod Matrix (MTMM) approach was employed to confirm the distinctiveness of physical aggression from nonaggressive antisocial behavior in early childhood. In addition, the convergent validity of teacher reports of physical aggression was investigated on a measure that contained age-appropriate behavior items selected from the Preschool Behavior Questionnaire (PBQ). Assessments of physical aggression versus nonaggressive antisocial behavior of 117 kindergartners with different behavior profiles were obtained using three measures varying in source and/or method: (a) teacher reports on the PBQ, (b) short interviews with teachers, and (c) classroom observations. The MTMM matrix was analyzed using confirmatory factor analysis (CFA). The results provided reasonable support for the discrimination between physical aggression and nonaggressive antisocial behavior. In addition, strong support was found for the convergent validity of teacher-reported physical aggression using PBQ items.