Classification of children's behavior problems: Clinical and quantitative approaches

Children diagnosed Conduct Disorder, Attention Deficit Disorder, or Anxiety Disorder by DSM-III criteria were compared to contrast groups of Physically Disabled and Normal children using the Conners Teacher Rating Scale (CTRS). Discriminant function analyses of the CTRS ratings yielded accurate classification (67% correct) only when Conduct was combined with Attention Deficit and Normals were combined with Physically Disabled. The teacher raters seemed to be describing the children as behaviorally disordered with and without hyperactivity. The data also suggest that Attention Deficit Disorder is part of a broader Conduct Problems dimension.This study was part of a dissertation submitted to the Graduate School, Southern Illinois University-Carbondale, by the senior author in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the Ph.D. This research was supported in part by Maternal and Child Health Grant No. 424 awarded to the UCLA Neuropsychiatrie Institute. The authors express their appreciation to Alexander Tymchuck, Ruth Lambert, Robert Oldham, Arlene Yoshima, Augustus Adams, Deborah Stez, and Carol McDermott.