The early identification of social-emotional and behavioral problems of preschool children has become an important goal in research and clinical practice. A growing number of studies have been published in this field; however, most focus on behavior problems, or on social skills, but few on both. The present study aims to test the validity of the Portuguese version of the Preschool and Kindergarten Behavior Scales–Second Edition (PKBS-2) in differentiating two groups of preschoolers regarding their social skills and behavior problems: 41 children at risk for disruptive behavior (BP group) and 41 selected from the PKBS-2 normative sample (comparison group). Each child was rated with the PKBS-2 by parents and teachers. Results showed that children in the BP group were rated by their parents as having fewer social skills and more behavior problems than the comparison group (p < .01, for the majority of the PKBS-2 scores). A similar pattern was found for teachers’ ratings. The discriminant functional analysis highlighted the Social Cooperation and the Externalizing Problem Behavior subscales as most accurate in differentiating the two groups. The usefulness of the PKBS-2 Portuguese version as a valid assessment tool available for practice and research with preschoolers was supported.

早期识别学龄前儿童的社会情绪和行为问题已成为研究和临床实践的重要目标。越来越多的研究发表在这一领域；然而，大多数人关注行为问题或社交技能，但很少有人同时关注这两者。本研究旨在测试葡萄牙语版学前和幼儿园行为量表第二版 (PKBS-2) 在区分两组学龄前儿童的社交技能和行为问题方面的有效性：41 名有破坏性行为风险的儿童 (BP组）和 41 个选自 PKBS-2 规范样本（比较组）。每个孩子都被家长和老师评为 PKBS-2。p < .01，对于大多数 PKBS-2 分数）。教师评分也发现了类似的模式。判别功能分析强调社会合作和外化问题行为分量表在区分两组方面最准确。支持 PKBS-2 葡萄牙语版本作为可用于学龄前儿童实践和研究的有效评估工具的有用性。