Clinical Significance of the Vineland Adaptive Behavior Scale-II in Children With Developmental Disabilities

Objective: This study compared adaptive functioning measured by the Korean version of Vineland Adaptive Behavior Scales, Second Edition (K-VABS-II), in preschool children with developmental disabilities (DD) and those with typical development (TD). We also examined the correlation of K-VABS-II adaptive profiles with developmental and behavioral assessments.

Methods: Two hundred preschool children (73 females and 127 males, mean age 54.7±9.1 months) were recruited from special educational centers, community-based daycare centers, and kindergartens. Eighty-one with DD comprising 61 with autism spectrum disorder, 63 with intellectual disability, 12 with language disorder, and 119 with TD were included. Their developmental profiles were measured by the Psychoeducational Profile-Revised (PEP-R), Preschool Receptive-Expressive Language Scale (PRES), K-VABS-II, Social Responsiveness Scale (SRS), and the Korean version of the Childhood Autism Rating Scale (K-CARS). The parent completed the Child Behavior Checklist (CBCL), and Aberrant Behavior Checklist (ABC).

Results: The K-VABS-II Adaptive Behavior Composite and all domain scores of K-VABS-II differed significantly between children with DD and TD (all p<0.001). In most domains, K-VABS-II had moderate-to-strong correlations with PEP-R, PRES, K-CARS, and SRS. The Maladaptive Behavior Index domain of K-VABS-II had moderate correlations with behavioral assessments, including CBCL and ABC.

Conclusion: These findings suggest that K-VABS-II is useful in evaluating developmental levels and adaptive and maladaptive behaviors of preschool children with DD. K-VABS-II also had significant correlations with cognitive, language, social, and behavioral assessments.