Hostname: page-component-586b7cd67f-rdxmf Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-11-29T01:26:34.291Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false

The Child Behaviour Checklist and the Rutter Parental Questionnaire: a comparison between two screening instruments

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  09 July 2009

Eric Fombonne*
Affiliation:
Centre Alfred Binet, Paris, France
*
1Address for correspondence: Dr Eric Fombonne, Centre Alfred Binet, 76 Avenue Edison, 75013 Paris, France

Synopsis

In order to carry out an epidemiological survey of child psychiatric disorders in a community sample, the Child Behaviour Checklist was chosen as a parental questionnaire for screening in the first stage of the study. A French version of this instrument was developed and a pilot study of the scale was completed on a clinical sample (N = 127). As a criterion to gauge its validity, the Rutter scale was used as a concurrent measure. The correlation coefficient between the total scores of the two scales is 0·79, and ranges between 0·22 and 0·96 for individual items. A linear regression analysis, using the total score of the Rutter scale as an independent variable, predicts a value of 41 as the optimal cut-off to be used for the Child Behaviour Checklist. Comparative properties (reliability and time of completion) of the two scales are presented and discussed.

Type
Original Articles
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 1989

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. & Edelbrock, C. S. (1981). Behavior problems and competencies reported by parents of normal and disturbed children aged 4 through 16. Monographs of the Society for Research in Child Development 46, No. 188.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Achenbach, T. M. & Edelbrock, C. S. (1983). Manual for the Child Behavior Checklist and Revised Child Behavior Profile. University of Vermont, Department of Psychiatry: Burlington, Vermont.Google Scholar
Achenbach, T. M., Verhulst, F. C., Baron, G. D. & Althaus, M. (1987). A comparison of syndromes derived from the Child Behavior Checklist for American and Dutch boys aged 6–11 and 12–16. Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry 28, 437453.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Bird, H. R., Canino, G., Gould, M. S., Ribera, J., Rubio-Stipec, M., Woodbury, M., Huertas-Goldman, S. & Sesman, M. (1987). Use of the Child Behavior Checklist as a screening instrument for epidemiological research in child psychiatry: results of a pilot study. Journal of the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry 26, 207213.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Boyle, M. H. & Jones, S. C. (1985). Selecting measures of emotional and behavioral disorders of childhood for use in general populations. Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry 26, 137159.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Boyle, M. H., Offord, D. R., Hofmann, H. G., Catlin, G. P., Byles, J. A., Cadman, D. T., Crawford, J. W., Links, P. S., Rae-Grant, N. I. & Szatmari, P. (1987). Ontario Child Health Study. I. Methodology. Archives of General Psychiatry 44, 826831.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Costello, E. J., Edelbrock, C. S. & Costello, A. J. (1985). Validity of the NIMH Diagnostic Interview Schedule for Children: a comparison between psychiatric and pediatric referrals. Journal of Abnormal and Child Psychology 13, 579595.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Edelbrock, C., Costello, A. J. & Kessler, M. D. (1984). Empirical corroboration of the Attention Deficit Disorder. Journal of the American Academy of Child Psychiatry 23, 285290.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Evans, W. R. (1975). The Behavior Problem Checklist: data from an inner city population. Psychology in the Schools 12, 301303.3.0.CO;2-#>CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Fombonne, E. (1987). A comparison of two parental questionnaires suitable for epidemiological studies of child psychiatric disorders.Communication at the 8th European Congress of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry,22–27 September 1987,Varna, Bulgaria.Google Scholar
Milich, R., Roberts, M. A., Loney, J. & Caputo, J. (1980). Differentiating practice effects and statistical regression on the Conners Hyperkinesis Index. Journal of Abnormal Child Psychology 8, 549552.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Miller, L. C., Hampe, E., Barrett, C. L. & Noble, H. (1972). Test–retest reliability of parent ratings of children's deviant behavior. Psychological Reports 31, 249250.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
National Institute of Mental Health (1980). The Assessment of Psychopathology and Behavioral Problems in Children: a Review of Scales Suitable for Epidemiological and Clinical Research (1967–1979). Series AN No. 1, DHHS Publication No. (ADM) 80–1037, Superintendent of Documents, US Government Printing Office: Washington, DC.Google Scholar
Nunnally, J. C. (1978). Psychometric Theory. McGraw-Hill: New York.Google Scholar
Offord, D. R., Boyle, M. H., Szatmari, P., Rae-Grant, N. I., Links, P. S., Cadman, D. T., Byles, J. A., Crawford, J. W., Blum, H. M., Byrne, C., Thomas, H. & Woodward, C. A. (1987). Ontario Child Health Study. II. Six–month prevalence of disorder and rates of service utilization. Archives of General Psychiatry 44, 832836.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Robins, L. N. (1985). Epidemiology: reflections on testing the validity of psychiatric interviews. Archives of General Psychiatry 42, 918924.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Rutter, M., Tizard, J. & Whitmore, K. (1981). Education, Health and Behaviour Krieger: Huntington.Google Scholar
Sleinhausen, H.–C. & Göbel, D. (1987). Convergence of parent checklists and child psychiatric diagnoses. Journal of Abnormal Child Psychology 15, 147151.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Verhulst, F. C. & Althaus, M. (1988). Persistence and change in behavioral/emotional problems reported by parents of children aged 4–14: an epidemiological study. Acta Psychiatrica Scandinavica 77, Suppl. 339.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Verhulst, F. C., Akkerhuis, G. W. & Althaus, M. (1985 a). Mental health in Dutch children. I. A cross–cultural comparison. Acta Psychiatrica Scandinavica 72, Suppl. 323.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Verhulst, F. C., Berden, G. F. M. G. & Sanders-Woudstra, J. A. R. (1985 b). Mental health in Dutch children. II. The prevalence of psychiatric disorder and relationship between measures. Acta Psychiatrica Scandinavica 72, Suppl. 324CrossRefGoogle Scholar