Skip to main content Accessibility help

We use cookies to distinguish you from other users and to provide you with a better experience on our websites. Close this message to accept cookies or find out how to manage your cookie settings.

Close cookie message
×
Hostname: page-component-cd9895bd7-hc48f Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-12-24T16:45:57.549Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false

11 - Multi-Informant Assessment of Psychopathology from Preschool through Old Age

from Part II - Specific Clinical Assessment Methods

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  06 December 2019

By
Thomas M. Achenbach ,
Masha Y. Ivanova  and
Leslie A. Rescorla
Edited by
Martin Sellbom  and
Julie A. Suhr
Martin Sellbom
Affiliation:
University of Otago, New Zealand
Julie A. Suhr
Affiliation:
Ohio University
Get access

Summary

Studies in many societies have shown low to moderate agreement between reports of psychopathology by different informants, including self-reports by the people being assessed. Research has also shown that psychiatric diagnoses based only on self-reports are often wrong when compared with diagnoses based on multiple sources of data. Furthermore, reports from different informants predict different aspects of outcomes. Because different informants can contribute valuable information about an assessed person’s functioning, comprehensive clinical assessment should include data from multiple informants. Practical methods were presented for obtaining, comparing, and using data from multiple informants scored in relation to norms for the age and gender of the assessed person, the type of informant, and appropriate multicultural norms. When deemed appropriate, clinicians can show clients bar graph comparisons of scale scores from multiple informants to foster therapeutic alliances and to evaluate progress and outcomes. Although more research on multi-informant data is warranted, applications of existing knowledge and instruments can advance clinical services now.

Keywords

multi-informant assessmentpsychopathologymulticulturalassessment validitynormsprogress and outcome evaluations
Type
Chapter
Information
The Cambridge Handbook of Clinical Assessment and Diagnosis , pp. 123 - 134
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
Print publication year: 2019

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

Achenbach, T. M. (2020). Integration, progress, and outcomes app for ages 6–18. Burlington, VT: University of Vermont, Research Center for Children, Youth, & Families.Google Scholar
Achenbach, T. M., Ivanova, M. Y., Rescorla, L. A., Turner, L. V., & Althoff, R. R. (2016). Internalizing/externalizing problems: Review and recommendations for clinical and research applications. Journal of the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, 55, 647–656.Google Scholar
Achenbach, T. M., Krukowski, R. A., Dumenci, L., & Ivanova, M. Y. (2005). Assessment of adult psychopathology: Meta-analyses and implications of cross-informant correlations. Psychological Bulletin, 131, 361–382. https://doi.org/10.1037/0033-2909.131.3.361CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Achenbach, T. M., McConaughy, S. H., & Howell, C. T. (1987). Child/adolescent behavioral and emotional problems: Implications of cross-informant correlations for situational specificity. Psychological Bulletin, 101, 213–232. https://doi.org/10.1037/0033-2909.101.2.213Google Scholar
Achenbach, T. M., Newhouse, P. A ., & Rescorla, L. A. (2004). Manual for the ASEBA older adult forms & profiles. Burlington, VT: University of Vermont Research Center for Children, Youth, and Families.Google Scholar
Achenbach, T. M., & Rescorla, L. A. (2001). Manual for the ASEBA school-age forms & profiles. Burlington, VT: University of Vermont Research Center for Children, Youth, and Families.Google Scholar
Achenbach, T. M., & Rescorla, L. A. (2003). Manual for the ASEBA adult forms & profiles. Burlington, VT: University of Vermont Research Center for Children, Youth, and Families.Google Scholar
Achenbach, T. M., & Rescorla, L. A. (2007). Multicultural supplement to the Manual for the ASEBA School-Age Forms & Profiles. Burlington, VT: University of Vermont Research Center for Children, Youth, and Families.Google Scholar
Achenbach, T. M., & Rescorla, L. A. (2019). Multicultural supplement to the Manual for the ASEBA Older Adult Forms & Profiles. Burlington, VT: University of Vermont Research Center for Children, Youth, and Families.Google Scholar
Achenbach, T. M., Rescorla, L. A., & Ivanova, M. Y. (2015). Guide to family assessment using the ASEBA. Burlington, VT: University of Vermont Research Center for Children, Youth, and Families.Google Scholar
American Psychiatric Association. (2013). Diagnostic and statistical manual of mental disorders (5th ed.). Washington, DC: Author.Google Scholar
Barthlow, D. L., Graham, J. R., Ben-Porath, Y. S., Tellegen, A., & Mcnulty, J. L. (2002). The appropriateness of the MMPI-2 K correction. Assessment, 9, 219–229.Google Scholar
Ben-Porath, Y., & Tellegen, A. (2008/2011). Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory-Restructured Form: Manual for administration, scoring, and interpretation. Minneapolis: University of Minnesota Press.Google Scholar
Brigidi, B. D., Achenbach, T .M., Dumenci, L., & Newhouse., P. A. (2010). Broad spectrum assessment of psychopathology and adaptive functioning with the Older Adult Behavior Checklist: A validation and diagnostic discrimination study. International Journal of Geriatric Psychiatry, 25, 1177–1185.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Burchett, D., Dragon, W. R., Smith Holbert, A. M., Tarescavage, A. M., Mattson, C. A., Handel, R. W., & Ben-Porath, Y. S. (2016). “False Feigners”: Examining the impact of non-content-based invalid responding on the Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory-2 Restructured Form content-based invalid responding indicators. Psychological Assessment, 28, 458–470. http://dx.doi.org/10.1037/pas0000205Google Scholar
Butcher, J. N., Dahlstrom, W. G., Graham, J.R ., Tellegen, A., & Kaemmer, B. (1989). Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory (MMPI-2). Manual for administration and scoring. Minneapolis: University of Minnesota Press.Google Scholar
Connelly, B. S., & Ones, D. S. (2010). An other perspective on personality: Meta-analytic integration of observers’ accuracy and predictive validity. Psychological Bulletin, 136, 1092–1122.Google Scholar
De Los Reyes, A., Augenstein, T. M., Wang, M., Thomas, S. A., Drabick, D. A. G., Burgess, D. E., & Rabinowitz, J. (2015). The validity of the multi-informant approach to assessing child and adolescent mental health. Psychological Bulletin, 141, 858–900. https://doi.org/10.1037/a0038498Google Scholar
De Los Reyes, A., & Kazdin, A. E. (2005). Informant discrepancies in the assessment of childhood psychopathology: A critical review, theoretical framework, and recommendations for further study. Psychological Bulletin, 131, 483–509. https://doi.org/10.1037/0033-2909.131.4.483Google Scholar
Ferdinand, R. F., Hoogerheide, K. N., van der Ende, J., Heijmens Visser, J. H., Koot, H. M., Kasius, M. C., & Verhulst, F. C. (2003). The role of the clinician: Three-year predictive value of parents’, teachers’, and clinicians’ judgment of childhood psychopathology. Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry, 44, 867–876.Google Scholar
Folstein, M. F., Folstein, S. E., & McHugh, P. R. (1975). “Mini-mental state.” A practical method for grading the cognitive state of patients for the clinician. Journal of Psychiatry Research, 12, 189–198.Google Scholar
Hathaway, S. R., & McKinley, J. C. (1943). The Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Schedule. Minneapolis: University of Minnesota Press.Google Scholar
Ingram, P. B., & Ternes, M. S. (2016). The detection of content-based invalid responding: a meta-analysis of the MMPI-2-Restructured Form’s (MMPI-2-RF) over-reporting validity scales. The Clinical Neuropsychologist, 30, 473–496. http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/13854046.2016.1187769Google Scholar
Klein, D. N. (2003). Patients’ versus informants’ reports of personality disorders in predicting 7½ year outcome in outpatients with depressive disorders. Psychological Assessment, 15, 216–222.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Loranger, A. W. (1988). Personality Disorder Examination (PDE) Manual. Yonkers, NY: DV Communications.Google Scholar
Martel, M. M., Markon, K., & Smith, G. T. (2017). Research review: Multi-informant integration in child and adolescent psychopathology diagnosis. Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry, 58, 116–128.Google Scholar
McConaughy, S. H., & Achenbach, T. M. (2001). Manual for the Semistructured Clinical Interview for Children and Adolescents (2nd ed.). Burlington, VT: University of Vermont Research Center for Children, Youth, and Families.Google Scholar
Meyer, G. J., Finn, S. E., Eyde, L. D., Kay, G. G., Moreland, K. L., Dies, R. R. et al. (2001). Psychological testing and psychological assessment: A review of evidence and issues. American Psychologist, 56, 128–165.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Rescorla, L. A., Achenbach, T. M., Ivanova, M. Y., Bilenberg, N., Bjarnadottir, G., Denner, S., et al. (2012). Behavioral/emotional problems of preschoolers: Caregiver/teacher reports from 15 societies. Journal of Emotional and Behavioral Disorders, 20, 68–81. https://doi.org/10.1177/1063426611434158Google Scholar
Rescorla, L. A., Achenbach, T. M., Ivanova, M. Y., Turner, L. V., Árnadóttir, H. A., Au, A. et al. (2016). Collateral reports of problems and cross-informant agreement about adult psychopathology in 14 societies. Journal of Psychopathology and Behavioral Assessment, 38, 381–397.Google Scholar
Rescorla, L. A., Bochicchio, L., Achenbach, T. M., Ivanova, M. Y., Almqvist, F., Begovac, I. et al. (2014). Parent-teacher agreement on children’s problems in 21 societies. Journal of Clinical Child and Adolescent Psychology, 43, 627–642. https://doi.org/10.1080/15374416.2014.900719Google Scholar
Rescorla, L. A., Ewing, G., Ivanova, M. Y., Aebi, M., Bilenberg, N., Dieleman, G. C. et al. (2017). Parent-adolescent cross-informant agreement in clinically referred samples: Findings from seven societies. Journal of Clinical Child and Adolescent Psychology, 46, 74–87.Google Scholar
Rescorla, L., Ginzburg, S., Achenbach, T. M., Ivanova, M. Y., Almqvist, F., Begovac, I. et al. (2013). Cross-informant agreement between parent-reported and adolescent self-reported problems in 25 societies. Journal of Clinical Child and Adolescent Psychology, 42, 262–273.Google Scholar
Sharf, A. J., Rogers, R., Williams, M. M., & Henry, S. A. (2017). The effectiveness of the MMPI-2-RF in detecting feigned mental disorders and cognitive deficits: A meta-analysis. Journal of Psychopathology and Behavioral Assessment, 39, 441–455. http://dx.doi.org.10.1007/s10862-017-9590-1Google Scholar
Tierney, M., Herrmann, N., Geslani, D. M., & Szalai, J. P. (2003). Contribution of informant and patient ratings to the accuracy of the Mini-Mental State Examination in predicting probable Alzheimer’s disease. Journal of the American Geriatrics Society, 51, 813–818.Google Scholar
Vidair, H. B., Reyes, J. A., Shen, S., Parrilla-Escobar, M. A., Heleniak, C. M., Hollin, I. L. et al. (2011). Screening parents during child evaluations: Exploring parent and child psychopathology in the same clinic. Journal of the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, 50, 441–450. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jaac.2011.02.002Google Scholar

Save book to Kindle

To save this book to your Kindle, first ensure [email protected] is added to your Approved Personal Document E-mail List under your Personal Document Settings on the Manage Your Content and Devices page of your Amazon account. Then enter the ‘name’ part of your Kindle email address below. Find out more about saving to your Kindle.

Note you can select to save to either the @free.kindle.com or @kindle.com variations. ‘@free.kindle.com’ emails are free but can only be saved to your device when it is connected to wi-fi. ‘@kindle.com’ emails can be delivered even when you are not connected to wi-fi, but note that service fees apply.

Find out more about the Kindle Personal Document Service.

Available formats
×

Save book to Dropbox

To save content items to your account, please confirm that you agree to abide by our usage policies. If this is the first time you use this feature, you will be asked to authorise Cambridge Core to connect with your account. Find out more about saving content to Dropbox.

Available formats
×

Save book to Google Drive

To save content items to your account, please confirm that you agree to abide by our usage policies. If this is the first time you use this feature, you will be asked to authorise Cambridge Core to connect with your account. Find out more about saving content to Google Drive.

Available formats
×