INTERRATER RELIABILITY OF THE MOTIVATION ASSESSMENT SCALE - ANOTHER, CLOSER LOOK

Recent evidence indicates that the Motivation Assessment Scale (MAS), designed by Durand and Crimmins (1988) to measure influential maintaining variables of maladaptive behavior, is associated with inadequate interrater reliability. In this study, interrater reliability of the MAS was reinvestigated utilizing direct-care staff members familiar with persons with mental retardation. Problematic overt behaviors were evaluated in 42 adults in southern Nevada. MAS items were found to be reliable moderately but significantly across raters. Variables that affect reliability, including low or high behavior frequency, differential training procedures for raters, and setting selection should be considered closely by MAS administrators.