SEAM at a glance.pdf

At A Glance

Type of tool Assessment tool for measuring children's social-emotional development and parenting competence
Components SEAM, SEAM with Ages (same items as SEAM but includes age ranges for each item), SEAM Family Profile
Age range of children 2-66 months (Infant: 2-18 months; Toddler: 18-36 months; Preschool: 36-66 months)
Who conducts it Early interventionists, early childhood teachers, Head Start & Early Head Start staff, home visitors, parent educators, and mental health professionals
Where it is conducted In early education programs, homes, or other settings where children are served
Number of items SEAM and SEAM with Ages forms have 10 child benchmarks with corresponding items. Infant (35 items), Toddler (35 items), Preschool (41 items). SEAM Family Profile forms have 4 adult benchmarks with corresponding items. Infant (9 items), Toddler (17 items), Preschool (17 items)
Languages Available English and Spanish (both included on the CD-ROM)
Sample item SEAM and SEAM with Ages - Benchmark: Baby Participates in Healthy Interactions - Item: Baby shows interest in you and other familiar caregivers. SEAM Family Profile: Benchmark: Responding to my baby's needs - Item: I understand my child's nonverbal communication and know how to respond.
Time to complete SEAM and SEAM with Ages: 10-30 minutes, SEAM Family Profile: 10-15 minutes
Scores provided SEAM/SEAM with Ages: Can provide qualitative data with focus areas marked. Or, answers can be converted to numerical values for progress monitoring. SEAM Family Profile: Qualitative data with focus areas marked
Research sample 2,200 children from 49 U.S. states and Canada
Reliability (SEAM and SEAM with Ages) Inter-rater reliability: Infant: 0.776 (p < .01), Toddler: 0.752, Preschool: No data; Test-retest reliability: Infant: 0.987 (p < .01), Toddler: 0.968 (p < .01), Preschool: 0.989 (p < .01)
Concurrent Validity (SEAM and SEAM with Ages) Infant: 0.754** with DECA-IT, 0.628** with ITSEA Compliance, -0.415* with ITSEA Negative Emotion, 0.651** with ITSEA ProSocial, -0.557** with ASQ:SE; Toddler: 0.564** with ITSEA Compliance, -0.261** with ITSEA Negative Emotion, 0.652** with ITSEA ProSocial, -0.516** with ASQ:SE; Preschool: -0.810** with ASQ:SE + p < .05 * p < .01
Utility (SEAM and SEAM with Ages) Parents (sample of 434): 93% felt SEAM included appropriate and useful questions, 56% were alerted to new child skills as a result of completing the SEAM. Practitioners (sample of 35): 92% agree that completing SEAM gave meaningful information about children.