The SENA: an effective clinical assessment system in the child and adolescent population.

A useful assessment tool used in the child and adolescent population.

With the constant evolution that is intrinsic to the knowledge of psychology, more and more complete assessment instruments are needed that allow the achievement of a more comprehensive assessment process. This is even more relevant in the case of the child population, where a process of psychological development is taking place that will be decisive in the subsequent achievement of personality and adult functioning.

In this sense, the rise of multidimensional psychometric tests is becoming increasingly evident. This type of approach makes it possible to contemplate personal variations in the characteristics and manifestations of psychological problems. The Child and Adolescent Assessment System (SENA) is a good example of this type of methodology. which has a series of particularities that greatly facilitate the clinician's role in the evaluation of child and adolescent psychopathology.

Description and application of SENA

The SENA is oriented to evaluate the set of emotional and behavioral problems that can be observed between 3 and 18 years of age.. Its publication in 2015 was a proposal to replace a very similar previous test, the BASC (Behavioral Assessment System for Children and Adolescents) in order to update some of the items included in the scales, increase the validity index of the test and complement it with other scales of clinical interest, such as those related to Psychological Resources and Areas of Vulnerability.

More specifically, the SENA presents three questionnaire modalities depending on the age of the person being assessedThe questionnaire is administered in three age groups: early childhood education (3-6 years), primary education (6-12 years) and secondary education (12-18 years). In addition, each chronological section of the test is multi-reporting, each one consisting of three complementary questionnaires: the self-report, which collects the subject's own answers; the family report, answered by the parents; the school report, which includes the evaluation in the school environment observed by the child's tutor or by the school psychologist.

What does the SENA evaluate?

This instrument makes it possible to obtain, by means of the different age-specific and informant-specific forms, an exhaustive assessment to determine the existence and intensity of the emotional and behavioral problems most commonly associated with the child and adolescent population. Thus, more specifically SENA differentiates the following typologies of psychological difficulties.

Internalized problems

These are related to anxiogenic or dysphoric symptomatology and are more usually internal emotional manifestations of the individual.

Externalized problems

Their indicators may be externally more evident and are related to more behavioral aspects.

Contextual problems

These scales are formed by the assessment of problems in the family and school environment (differentiating academic difficulties from relational difficulties with respect to classmates).

Specific problems

Depending on the chronological modality administered, the existence of the following types of problems is evaluated:

All the scales mentioned converge in obtaining global indexes that synthesize what is found in them and add a general value of difficulties in executive functions and of the total level of personal resources.

On the other hand, the SENA also provides other types of indexes with very relevant information that facilitate a deeper and more complete evaluation of the personal dispositions of the evaluated person in order to establish more clearly whether the problems found have a more or less favorable prognosis. more clearly establish whether the problems encountered have a more or less favorable prognosis.. These include scales of vulnerabilities or factors more closely linked to a more unfavorable prognosis and personal resources, which are understood as protective factors associated with a better prognosis.

On the other hand, the SENA highlights the presence of positive responses in critical items, whose severity requires special attention to be devoted to a more detailed analysis, such as questions on suicidal ideation, bullying, hallucinations, etc.

Finally, this tool measures, by means of control scales, the sincerity with which the informants have responded without minimizing, maximizing or manifesting an incoherent style in the answers provided. The scales included in this section refer to Inconsistency and Positive/Negative Impression of the answers provided.

Conclusion: purpose, reliability and validity of the SENA.

As with any psychometric instrument for psychological assessment, the SENA is not intended by itself to serve as the sole diagnostic element of the SENA.. Although it is true that it provides a large volume of information, everything found from it must be complemented with a good process of anamnesis and other methodologies such as observation, interview or the administration of other complementary tests. As a whole, this will make it possible to rigorously develop a clearer diagnostic impression, as well as to outline the type of psychological intervention best suited to the case being evaluated.

As for the main indices that assess the quality of a psychological assessment instrument, reliability (the degree to which the test is accurate in the variables it measures) and validity (the certainty with which the test measures the variable it is intended to measure), satisfactory levels have been obtained in both areas.

Thus, the mean obtained in all the SENA scales has reached a satisfactory level of internal consistency or reliability. scales achieved an internal consistency or reliability of 0.86 (values between 0.0 and 1.0). On the other hand, the level of agreement between informants is between 40 and 60%, which places the SENA in the average of most of the evaluation instruments and even slightly higher depending on the informant source and the clinical scale determined.

Finally, regarding the validity of the test, the long process and the participation of a large group of expertsFinally, regarding the validity of the test, the long process and the participation of a large group of experts who have been involved in the development and review of the items that make up the test are an example of the exhaustive work carried out to achieve a satisfactory validity value.

Bibliographical references:

• Fernández-Pinto, I., Santamaría, P., Sánchez-Sánchez, F., Carrasco, M.A. and del Barrio, V. (2015) SENA. Sistema de Evaluación de Niños y Adolescentes: Manual de Aplicación, corrección e interpretación. Madrid: TEA Ediciones.
• Fernández-Pinto, I., Santamaría, P., Sánchez-Sánchez, F., Carrasco, M.A. and del Barrio, V. (2015) SENA. Sistema de Evaluación de Niños y Adolescentes: Manual Técnico. Madrid: TEA Ediciones.