Scores on the eysenck personality questionnaire for a sample of children and adolescents receiving psychological treatment in Puerto Rico

Personality questionnaire scores obtained by children and adolescents (n = 28) receiving psychological treatment at a health facility in Humacao, Puerto Rico were examined. The scores were compared with those of regular school children of the same age, of Gurabo, Puerto Rico, who were not in treatment (n = 30). The children in treatment obtained higher scores on Psychoticism, lower scores on Extraversion, and similar scores on Neuroticism and Dissimulation by comparison with regular students.     

A Russian adaptation of the child behavior checklist: Psychometric properties and associations with child and maternal affective symptomatology and family functioning

The Child Behavior Checklist's (CBCL) applicability to a sample of 105 Russian 9- and 10-year-old children was evaluated by examining the internal consistency of Russian adaptations of parent and teacher report forms. In addition, child behavior scores were correlated with child reports of internalizing symptoms and maternal reports of their own internalizing symptoms and general family functioning. Finally, rates of child behavior problems and patterns of interrater agreement were compared with U.S. normative data. The psychometric properties of the adaptations demonstrate the adequacy of these instruments for use in Russia. Internal consistency and interrater agreement were generally comparable to estimates obtained in U.S. normative samples. Further, an exploration of the construct validity of the Russian versions of the CBCL and Teacher Report Form (TRF) lends additional support to the adequacy of these instruments.This work was supported in part by grants from the International Research Exchanges Board (IREX) (with funds provided by the Andrew Mellon Foundation, the National Endowment for the Humanities, and the U.S. Department of State) and the National Institute of Mental Health (MH-00508, an RSDA to D. Pauls). None of these organizations is responsible for the views expressed. In addition, the authors wish to thank Thomas Achenbach for his helpful comments and suggestions.     

Factor structure of the Brief Psychiatric Rating Scale for Children (BPRS-C) among Hospital Patients and Community Clients

The factor structure, reliability and concurrent validity of the Brief Psychiatric Rating Scale for Children (BPRS-C) was examined. The BPRS-C was designed to measure child psychopathology with seven scales consisting of three items each. Two large samples of intake assessments at admission to the public mental health system of state psychiatric hospitals (n = 6712) and community mental health centers (n = 21,459) for children aged 3–17 were examined. In both samples exploratory and confirmatory factor analysis found seven factors that generally supported the BPRS-C seven scale structure. Reliability as measured by internal consistency was acceptable with an average alpha of .72 (SD = .09). Mean scale scores across diagnoses and concurrent correlations with the Child Behavior Checklist (CBCL) were consistent with expectations.     

Differential predictive value of parents' and teachers' reports of children's problem behaviors: A longitudinal study

This study investigated the prediction of signs of disturbance in 946 children originally aged 4 to 11 years from the general population across a 6-year period. Parents' and teachers' ratings obtained via the Child Behavior Checklist (CBCL) and Teacher's Report Form (TRF) were tested as predictors of (a) academic problems, (b) school behavior problems, (c) receipt of mental health services, (d) child's need for professional help, (e) suicidal behavior, and (f) police contacts. Total problem scores in the deviant range on the CBCL or TRF were significantly associated with poor outcomes 6 years later. The combination of deviant scores on both the CBCL and TRF was a powerful predictor of poor outcomes with 56% of the girls, and 36% of the boys with total problem scores in the deviant range on both instruments maladjusted 6 years later. The CBCL syndromes Attention Problems and Delinquent Behavior, and the TRF syndromes Delinquent Behavior, Somatic Complaints, and Social Problems significantly predicted poor outcomes. Teachers' reports predicted poor outcomes equally well or even somewhat better than parents' reports. It is important to include teacher information in the diagnostic assessment of children.We wish to thank Dr. Thomas Achenbach for his helpful advice. This research was supported by grants from the Sophia Foundation for Medical Research, and the Health Research Promotion Program.     

Concurrent Validation of the Treatment Outcome Package (TOP) for Children and Adolescents

The Treatment Outcome Package for children and adolescents (TOP) is a behavioral health and well-being assessment used widely in clinical and child welfare populations. The primary purpose of this study was to examine the concurrent validity of the Child and Adolescent versions of the TOP with the Child Behavior Checklist (CBCL) and the Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire (SDQ) with a community sample. Children and adolescents (N = 203) 3–18 years of age from a community sample completed the CBCL, the SDQ, and the TOP. Significant correlations emerged between the TOP and theoretically similar scales on the SDQ and the CBCL. Analyses demonstrated that the TOP has excellent concurrent validity on most subscales with both the CBCL and the SDQ. These results provide additional evidence for the TOP’s utility and validity as a measure of psychological well-being and functioning.     

Behavioral and emotional problems among Chinese and American children: Parent and teacher reports for ages 6 to 13

This study compared behavioral and emotional problems reported by parents and teachers in Chinese urban and rural samples and demographically similar American samples. Parents of 469 6-to-13-year-old children of each nationality completed the Child Behavior Checklist (CBCL). Teachers completed the Teacher's Report Form (TRF). Cross-cultural differences were generally modest in magnitude. Chinese children scored higher on TRF Delinquent Behavior and Anxious/Depressed syndromes, and on Internalizing. American children scored higher on CBCL Aggressive Behavior and TRF Attention Problems syndromes. Boys exhibited more externalizing behaviors across both cultures. The mean correlation between parent and teacher ratings was .36 in the Chinese sample and .29 in the American sample, a nonsignificant difference. Findings indicate considerable similarity between problems reported for children in very different societies.This work was supported by NIMH grant MH40305 and by University Associates in Psychiatry, a nonprofit health service and research corporation of the University of Vermont Department of Psychiatry.The authors are grateful to David Jacobowitz and Catherine Howell for their help in the analyses.     

Measuring social problem solving using the Spanish version for Hispanics of the Social Problem Solving Inventory-Revised

This study investigated the internal consistency, factor structure, and concurrent validity of the Social Problem Solving Inventory-Spanish Version for Hispanics (SPSI-R-Hispanic), a translation of the Social Problem Solving Inventory-Revised (SPSI-R; D'Zurilla, Nezu & Maydeu-Olivares, 2002), in a North American sample of 325 Spanish speaking Hispanics. The scales of the SPSI-R-Hispanic demonstrated good internal consistency reliability. The hypothesized factor model of the SPSI-R provided a good fit to the data. SPSI-R-Hispanic scores demonstrated concurrent validity in a multiple regression analysis, explaining 32% of incremental variability in psychological well-being scores. Gender differences were replicated, where men had higher positive problem orientation and rational problem solving scores and women had higher negative problem orientation scores.     

Child Behavior Checklist Scores for School-Aged Children with Autism: Preliminary Evidence of Patterns Suggesting the Need for Referral

The Child Behavior Checklist (CBCL) is a widely used questionnaire to assess behavioral and emotional problems. It is often used as a diagnostic screener, but autism spectrum disorders (ASD) are not included in the CBCL for school-aged children. This study investigated patterns of CBCL scores in 108 children with high-functioning ASD from two independent samples, and 67 IQ- and age-matched controls. Scores on the CBCL Thought and Social Problems scales significantly differentiated children with ASD from controls. Both independent ASD samples had the same pattern of elevations, with mean scores over two standard deviations above the mean for Social, Thought, and Attention Problems. The Withdrawn/Depressed scale was elevated to at least the borderline clinical range for half of the ASD sample. This pattern of elevations is consistent with two prior studies of the CBCL with school-aged children with ASD, and therefore may warrant follow-up assessment to rule out an ASD.     

Long-term stability of the Child Behavior Checklist in a clinical sample of youth with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder.

Evaluated the long-term stability of the Child Behavior Checklist (CBCL) in a longitudinal clinical sample of youth with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), testing the hypothesis that the CBCL scales will show stability over time. Participants were 105 Caucasian, non-Hispanic boys with ADHD between the ages of 6 and 17 assessed at baseline and at a 4-year follow-up. Stability of CBCL scales were computed for dimensional (intraclass correlation coefficients [ICCs], Pearson correlations) and dichotomized scale scores (kappa coefficients and odds ratios [ORs]). Evidence was found for stability of the categorical and dimensional types of scores, as demonstrated by statistically significant stability of the Pearson correlation coefficients, kappas, and ORs. The robust findings obtained from ICCs and kappa coefficients document substantial stability for CBCL scales over time within individuals with ADHD. These results support the informativeness of the CBCL as a useful measure of longitudinal course in clinical samples of youth with ADHD.     

Reliability and validity of the Revised Children's Manifest Anxiety Scale in a French-Canadian sample

The aim of this study was to examine the reliability and validity of a French version of the Revised Children's Manifest Anxiety Scale (RCMAS). A sample of 2,666 school-age French-Canadian children completed the questionnaire. With regard to factor structure, the 5-factor model found in U.S. normative samples was confirmed. The internal consistency of the 5 scales and of the 2 global scales was good to excellent. Test-retest reliabilities after a 6-month period were also similar to those of the original version. Finally, the concurrent validity, assessed by a correlation with the State-Trait Anxiety Inventory for Children, was also found to be good. Results of the present study show that the French version of the RCMAS is a good instrument to assess anxiety in children.     

Harmonized Phenotypes for Anxiety,Depression, and Attention-Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD)

In multi-cohort consortia, the problem often arises that a phenotype is measured using different questionnaires. This study aimed to harmonize scores based on the Child Behaviour Check List (CBCL) and the Strength and Difficulties Questionnaire (SDQ) for anxiety/depression and ADHD. To link the scales, we used parent reports on 1330 children aged 10–11.5 years from the Raine study on both SDQ and CBCL. Harmonization was done based on Item Response Theory. We started from existing CBCL and SDQ scales related to anxiety/depression and ADHD (theoretical approach). Next, we conducted a data-driven approach using factor analysis to validate the theoretical approach. Both approaches yielded similar scales, validating the combination of existing scales. In addition, we studied the impact of harmonized (IRT-based) scores on the statistical power of the results in meta-analytic gene-finding studies. The results showed that the IRT-based harmonized scores increased the statistical power of the results compared to sum scores, even with an equal sample size. These findings can help future researchers to harmonize data from different samples and/or different questionnaires that measure anxiety, depression, and ADHD, in order to obtain the larger sample sizes, to compare research results across subpopulations or to increase generalizability, the validity or statistical power of research results. We recommend using our item parameters to estimate harmonized scores that represent commensurate phenotypes across cohorts, and we explained in detail how other researchers can use our results to harmonize data in their studies.

     

The Koala Fear Questionnaire: Its Relationship with Fear of Storms and Hurricanes in 4- to 14-Year-Old Antillean Children

The present study further investigated the reliability and validity of the recently developed Koala Fear Questionnaire (KFQ) in a large sample of 4- to 14-year-old school children (N = 378) who lived on Sint-Maarten, The Netherlands Antilles. The results confirmed that the KFQ is a reliable scale with good internal consistency. Furthermore, evidence was obtained for the concurrent validity of the scale. That is, KFQ scores were substantially correlated with a highly relevant fear of the children on Sint-Maarten, namely fear of storms and hurricanes. Finally, psychometric properties in the younger children of our sample were highly similar to those obtained in older children. Altogether, these findings provide further support for the notion that the KFQ is a reliable and valid scale for assessing fears and fearfulness in children aged 4 years and above.     

Manifest anxiety and fearfulness in children and adolescents.

The relationship between self-reported fear and anxiety was examined in a large sample of normal Australian children and adolescents. Participants completed the Fear Survey Schedule for Children--Revised (Ollendick, 1983) and the Revised Children's Manifest Anxiety Scale (Reynolds & Richmond, 1978). Following an examination of the internal consistency of these instruments, correlational analyses were conducted on anxiety and fear scores. Fear scores were shown to be sensitive to anxiety, sex, and age groups. Furthermore, discriminant analysis showed that high-anxiety children indicated a greater fear of items related to failure and criticism than did low-anxiety children. Other issues, including the content overlap between the two scales used in the investigation, are discussed.     

Measurement Equivalence of the Child Behavior Checklist among Parents of African American Adolescents

The Child Behavior Checklist (CBCL/6-18) is a widely used parent-report measure of youth internalizing and externalizing problems. Accumulating evidence, however, suggests that the CBCL may not adequately assess clinical problems in diverse populations. We investigated the measurement equivalence (ME) of the CBCL in an African American adolescent sample (N = 145). Confirmatory factor analysis indicated poor factor model fit; however, modification indices and an alternative two-factor model produced improved fit statistics. Internal consistency coefficients of CBCL scales ranged from α = .65 to .88 and were generally lower than those reported for the normative sample. The CBCL exhibited convergent validity with conceptually similar scales on the Parent Report Scale of the Behavior Assessment System for Children; however, the correlations were weaker than those reported for the normative sample. The CBCL Internalizing composite failed to predict clinician-rated Emotional problems, however, the Externalizing composite predicted clinician-rated behavior problems. In summary, the CBCL did not exhibit unequivocal evidence of ME, as it both possesses and lacks a number of statistical attributes that would demonstrate its equivalence with African Americans. Future empirical and theoretical work is discussed.     

A Cross-Cultural Investigation of Relational and Social Aggression in Female College Students from Puerto Rico and the United States

Researchers compared scores on a self-report measure of relational and social aggression using 2 groups, European American female university students (M = 20.23 years, SD = 3.88) from the mid-Atlantic region of the United States and Hispanic females from Puerto Rico (M = 19.34 years, SD = 1.26). Results indicate that cultural differences were evident in the use of relational and social aggression. The exclusively Hispanic Puerto Rican sample reported being more socially aggressive than the European American, mid-Atlantic sample. In contrast, the European American sample identified as being more relationally aggressive in their relationships than the Hispanic Puerto Rican sample. This distinction allows us to consider potential cultural differences in interpersonal relations in college-age females.     

Comparison of special education and regular students in Puerto Rico on the Eysenck Personality Questionnaire

The Eysenck Personality Questionnaire and the Eysenck Personality Questionnaire for Children have been standardized for Puerto Rico. In this study the latter test was administered to 24 14-yr.-old boys in special education. No significant differences in scores on Neuroticism or Psychoticism were observed for these boys and 405 12-yr.-old regular students. Results are discussed in terms of the effectiveness of the special education program in Puerto Rico.     

Validation of the Preschool and Early Childhood Functional Assessment Scale (PECFAS)

Efforts to determine the prevalence of serious emotional disturbance in preschool-aged children have been hampered by the lack of a validated measure. The Preschool and Early Childhood Functional Assessment Scale (PECFAS) is a multi-dimensional measure that assesses the psychosocial functioning of children aged 3–7 years. The concurrent validity and reliability of the PECFAS were assessed in a sample of 30 preschool-aged children in a large Head Start program in Ventura, California. PECFAS ratings based on in-depth interviews were significantly related to parental ratings that the children had mental health problems, psychiatric diagnoses, teacher ratings of the child's need for mental health evaluations, teacher ratings of behavior problems on a standardized screening inventory (DIAL-R), and actual referrals for mental health evaluations. Interrater reliability for the total PECFAS score was high (r = .90) as was internal consistency of the five subscales (alpha = .86). Using the PECFAS scores as a standard, the weighted prevalence of serious emotional disturbance in this West Coast Head Start program was 17%, at the lower end of the current estimated rate of SED for older children in low income samples (18–26%).     

The challenge of a positive self-image in a colonial context: a psychology of liberation for the Puerto Rican experience

Community psychology and the psychology of liberation provide a framework to analyze colonization. Puerto Rico has always been a colony. This experience has direct negative effects on Puerto Ricans' national identities and their emotions. The purpose of this study was to explore emotions associated with Puerto Rican national identities in a sample of 35 high school students. While participating in 4 focus groups, the youths discussed negative and positive emotions associated to their national identities. The most frequent ones were shame and pride. They also identified situations which promoted negative and positive emotions. The role of a community psychology of liberation in understanding these phenomena as well as in embracing resistance to colonization is discussed.