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. 2017 Aug 9;2017(8):CD008559. doi: 10.1002/14651858.CD008559.pub3

2. Rating scales used in included trials to assess aggression.

Name of rating scale Description Construction Study Source of Information used in the study
Aberrant Behaviour Checklist (ABC) (Aman 1985a; Aman 1985b)  Symptom checklist for assessing problem behaviours of children and adults with mental retardation. It is also used for classifying problem behaviours of children and adolescents with mental retardation. 58 items, 5 scales.

  1. Irritability and agitation.

  2. Lethargy and social withdrawal.

  3. Stereotypic behaviour.

  4. Hyperactivity and non‐compliance.

  5. Inappropriate speech.

 Van Bellinghen 2001
Aman 2002
Snyder 2002 		 Parent/caregiver
Child Behaviour Checklist (CBCL) (Achenbach 1991) 
 		 Checklist for evaluating maladaptive behavioural and emotional problems. 113 items, 8 subscales.

  1. Withdrawn.

  2. Somatic complaints.

  3. Anxious/depressed.

  4. Social problems.

  5. Thought problems.

  6. Attention problems.

  7. Delinquent problems.

  8. Aggressive behaviour.

 Findling 2000 Parent
Overt Aggression Scale (OAS) (Yudofsky 1986) Assesses the severity and frequency of overt aggression. 25 items, 4 subscales.

  1. Verbal aggression.

  2. Physical aggression against self.

  3. Physical aggression against objects.

  4. Physical aggression towards other people.


Within each category, aggressive behaviour is rated according to its severity.		 Connor 2008 Parent
Overt Aggression Scale ‒ Modified (OAS‐M) (Kay 1988) Assesses the severity and frequency of overt aggression. 20 items, 4 subscales.

  1. Verbal aggression.

  2. Destruction of property.

  3. Aggression to self.

  4. Physical violence.


5‐point interval scale that represents increasing level of aggression. The total aggression score is obtained by multiplying the 4 individual scales by weights of 1, 2, 3 or 4 and then summing the 4 weighted scores.		 Buitelaar 2001 Nurse or teacher
Rating of aggression against people and/or property scale (RAAP) (Kemph 1993) ‐ Global rating scale, 1 item.
Scored from 1 (no aggression reported) to 5 (intolerable behaviour).		 Findling 2000 Clinician
Children's Aggression Scale ‒ Parent (CAS‐P; Halperin 2002) and Teacher (CAS‐T; Halperin 2003) Retrospectively measures the frequency and severity of 4 categories of aggression: verbal aggression; aggression against objects and animals; provoked physical aggression; and initiated physical aggression Respondents (parents/guardians and teachers) complete a Likert scale to evaluate the frequency of an act. The frequency of aggressive events is multiplied by its designated severity weight factor and then summed to yield a total score. Armenteros 2007 Parent and teacher
Antisocial Behavior Scale (ABS) Proactive and Reactive Subscales (Brown 1996) Instrument used to differentiate reactive/affective from proactive subtypes of aggression 28 items.
Proactive Aggression subscale: 5 proactive items and 5 covert antisocial items.
Reactive Aggression subscale: 6 items.		 TOSCA study Parent