Objective: To complement standardized measurement of symptoms, we developed and tested an efficient strategy for identifying (before treatment) and repeatedly assessing (during treatment) the problems identified as most important by caregivers and youths in psychotherapy. Method: A total of 178 outpatient-referred youths, 7-13 years of age, and…

Objective: To support ongoing monitoring of child response during treatment, we sought to develop a brief, easily administered, clinically relevant, and psychometrically sound measure. Method: We first developed child and caregiver forms of a 12-item Brief Problem Checklist (BPC) interview by applying item response theory and factor analysis to…

Evaluated construct and discriminant validity of Children's Depression Inventory (CDI) for large child and adolescent sample of clinical inpatients and demographically comparable nonreferred subjects. Three factors entered a significant discrimination function. Depressive Affect and Oppositional Behavior distinguished depressive and…

Reports findings on the concurrent validity of the broad-band Internalizing and Externalizing profile types of the Achenbach Child Behavior Checklist. Results indicated that Internalizers were favored on a number of measures of adaptation when compared with Externalizers. (Author/MCF)

Attempted to expand the construct validity of the profile and factor scales for the Personality Inventory for Children (PIC) by determining the relationship of these scales to empirically derived dimensions of problem behaviors in children and adolescents (N=691). Results provided substantial evidence of convergent and discriminant validity. (LLL)

Teacher ratings on the Behavior Problem Checklist of adolescents who were clinically diagnosed as schizophrenic (psychotic) and those who had an adjustment reaction of adolescence (nonpsychotic) were compared. The schizophrenics tended to be rated as more deviant on both the flag items and Inadequacy-Immaturity dimensions of the checklist. (Author)

An inventory was constructed to screen children for psychiatric impairment. Factor analysis of the questionnaire items of child behavior yielded 18 factors. The 7 factors with the highest correlations with total psychiatric impairment were selected for the inventory, each represented by 5 items. (Author)

Evaluated hopelessness, depression, and suicidal intent among preadolescent psychiatric patients (N=66), using the Hopelessness Scale for Children. Results showed children who scored high on the hopelessness scale showed significantly more severe depression. Suicidal intent was more consistently correlated with hopelessness than with depression.…

Reports construction of editions of the child behavior profile for boys aged 12-16 and girls aged 6-11 and 12-16 years, as well as reliability and stability findings, comparisons between normal children and those referred for mental health services, and comparisons with findings for 6- to 11-year-old boys. (Author)

Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Children data were obtained from 18 violent juvenile offenders. The similarities ratio was computed and compared with the score from a random subsample of 18 juveniles from a larger population of 200 offenders. There was a significantly lower similarities ratio for the violent group. (Author)

Results confirm previous findings that the revised State University of New York at Stony Brook observation code is a valid instrument for quantifying and discriminating the classroom behavior of children referred because of hyperactive behavior. (Author)

Devised a classroom observation code that would identify hyperactive children reliably. Children referred for hyperactivity had significantly higher scores than comparison children on 12 categories. There was greater within-subject variability in the hyperactive group. Motor activity for both groups was significantly inversely related to age.…

Constructed broad-band factor scales from a factor analysis of the items that comprise the 12 consecutive Personality Inventory for Children clinical-profile scales. The six-factor solution provided sufficiently robust item clusters to develop scales reflecting Undisciplined/Poor Self-Control, Social Incompetence, Internalization/Somatic Symptoms,…

Evaluated the psychometric characteristics of the Children's Beliefs about Parental Divorce Scale with three nonclinic samples. Demonstrated six subscales: Peer Ridicule and Avoidance, Paternal Blame, Fear of Abandonment, Maternal Blame, Hope of Reunification, and Self-Blame. The number of problematic beliefs varied by family structure but not by…

Reports the development and standardization of the teacher version of the Child Behavior Profile. Analyses showed significant differences on the scales between nonreferred boys and boys referred by teachers due to emotional or behavioral problems, supporting the discriminant validity of the teacher profile. (LLL)