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Leslie Rescorla,
Masha Y Ivanova,
Thomas M Achenbach,
Ivan Begovac,
Myriam Chahed,
May Britt Drugli,
Deisy Ribas Emerich, Daniel S S Fung,
Mariam Haider,
Kjell Hansson, [......],
Slobodan Sekulić,
Mimoza Shahini,
Edwiges Ferreira de Mattos Silvares,
Lajos Szirovicza,
José Valverde,
Luis Anderssen Vera,
Maria Clara Villa,
Laura Viola,
Bernardine S C Woo,
Eugene Yuqing Zhang
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ABSTRACT: To build on Achenbach, Rescorla, and Ivanova (2012) by (a) reporting new international findings for parent, teacher, and self-ratings on the Child Behavior Checklist, Youth Self-Report, and Teacher's Report Form; (b) testing the fit of syndrome models to new data from 17 societies, including previously underrepresented regions; (c) testing effects of society, gender, and age in 44 societies by integrating new and previous data; (d) testing cross-society correlations between mean item ratings; (e) describing the construction of multisociety norms; (f) illustrating clinical applications.
Confirmatory factor analyses (CFAs) of parent, teacher, and self-ratings, performed separately for each society; tests of societal, gender, and age effects on dimensional syndrome scales, DSM-oriented scales, Internalizing, Externalizing, and Total Problems scales; tests of agreement between low, medium, and high ratings of problem items across societies.
CFAs supported the tested syndrome models in all societies according to the primary fit index (Root Mean Square Error of Approximation [RMSEA]), but less consistently according to other indices; effect sizes were small-to-medium for societal differences in scale scores, but very small for gender, age, and interactions with society; items received similarly low, medium, or high ratings in different societies; problem scores from 44 societies fit three sets of multisociety norms.
Statistically derived syndrome models fit parent, teacher, and self-ratings when tested individually in all 44 societies according to RMSEAs (but less consistently according to other indices). Small to medium differences in scale scores among societies supported the use of low-, medium-, and high-scoring norms in clinical assessment of individual children.
Journal of the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry 12/2012; 51(12):1273-1283.e8. · 4.98 Impact Factor
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ABSTRACT: This study examined the criterion validity of the Child Behavior Checklist (CBCL) and Teacher's Report Form (TRF) problem scales and items in demographically-matched Singapore samples of referred and non-referred children (840 in each sample for the CBCL and 447 in each sample for the TRF). Internal consistency estimates for both the CBCL and TRF scales were good. Almost all CBCL and TRF problem scales and items significantly discriminated between referred and non-referred children, with referred children scoring higher, as expected. The largest referral status effects were on attention problems scales and their associated items, with the TRF having larger effects than the CBCL. Effect sizes for demographic variables such as age, gender, ethnicity and SES were much smaller than effect sizes for referral status, across both the CBCL and TRF forms and at both the scale and item levels. These findings suggest that teachers can be effective partners in identifying children who need mental health services and those who do not.
Child Psychiatry and Human Development 09/2011; 43(1):70-86. · 1.93 Impact Factor
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ABSTRACT: We tested the ability of the 2001 CBCL syndromes to discriminate among 86 children with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD), 117 children with Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder-Inattentive type, 426 children with Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder-Hyperactive-Impulsive or Combined type, 200 clinically referred children who did not receive a diagnosis, and 436 typically-developing children in a community sample. The Withdrawn/Depressed, Social Problems, and Thought Problems syndromes significantly discriminated the ASD group from the four other groups. An ASD scale, constructed from nine CBCL items, demonstrated moderate to high sensitivity (68 to 78%) and specificity (73 to 92%). Consistent with previous research, findings from this study provide strong support for the CBCL as a screening tool for ASD.
Journal of Autism and Childhood Schizophrenia 09/2011; 41(9):1147-56. · 3.06 Impact Factor
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ABSTRACT: We compared the effects of a 16-week Cognitive-Behavioral Therapy (CBT) program and a Social Recreational (SR) program on anxiety in children with Autism Spectrum Disorders (ASD). Seventy children (9-16 years old) were randomly assigned to either of the programs (n (CBT) = 36; n (SR) = 34). Measures on child's anxiety using the Spence Child Anxiety Scale--Child (SCAS-C) and the Clinical Global Impression-Severity scale (CGI--S) were administered at pre-, post-treatment, and follow-ups (3- and 6-month). Children in both programs showed significantly lower levels of generalized anxiety and total anxiety symptoms at 6-month follow-up on SCAS-C. Clinician ratings on the CGI-S demonstrated an increase in the percentage of participants rated as "Normal" and "Borderline" for both programs. Findings from the present study suggest factors such as regular sessions in a structured setting, consistent therapists, social exposure and the use of autism-friendly strategies are important components of an effective framework in the management of anxiety in children and adolescents with ASD.
Child Psychiatry and Human Development 06/2011; 42(6):634-49. · 1.93 Impact Factor
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Leslie A. Rescorla,
Thomas M. Achenbach,
Masha Y. Ivanova,
Valerie S. Harder,
Laura Otten,
Niels Bilenberg,
Gudrun Bjarnadottir,
Christiane Capron,
Sarah S. W. De Pauw,
Pedro Dias, [......],
Jaime R. Silva,
Zeynep Simsek,
Andre Sourander,
José Valverde,
Jan van der Ende,
Karla G. Van Leeuwen,
Yen-Tzu Wu,
Sema Yurdusen,
Stephen R. Zubrick,
Frank C. Verhulst
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ABSTRACT: International comparisons were conducted of preschool children's behavioral and emotional problems as reported on the Child Behavior Checklist for Ages 1½–5 by parents in 24 societies (N = 19,850). Item ratings were aggregated into scores on syndromes; Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders–oriented scales; a Stress Problems scale; and Internalizing, Externalizing, and Total Problems scales. Effect sizes for scale score differences among the 24 societies ranged from small to medium (3–12%). Although societies differed greatly in language, culture, and other characteristics, Total Problems scores for 18 of the 24 societies were within 7.1 points of the omnicultural mean of 33.3 (on a scale of 0–198). Gender and age differences, as well as gender and age interactions with society, were all very small (effect sizes < 1%). Across all pairs of societies, correlations between mean item ratings averaged .78, and correlations between internal consistency alphas for the scales averaged .92, indicating that the rank orders of mean item ratings and internal consistencies of scales were very similar across diverse societies.
Journal of Clinical Child & Adolescent Psychology 05/2011; 40(3):456-467. · 1.92 Impact Factor
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ABSTRACT: Pervasive developmental disorder (PDD) is associated with emotional and behavioural problems. There is no pharmacological cure for PDD, but some comorbidities and dysfunctional behaviours in PDD can be managed pharmacologically. The aim of the present study was to provide a better understanding of the efficacy and limitations in the currently available agents.
Electronic literature searches were conducted from the following sources: MEDLINE, Cochrane Library, PSYARTICLES and PsycINFO. Search terms included, but were not limited to, 'autism', 'PDD', 'autism spectrum disorder' ('ASD'), and 'pharmacological management'.
A range of pharmacological agents are available for the management of various dysfunctional symptoms in PDD. Broadly speaking, these agents help in the management of repetitive stereotyped behaviours, anxiety, aggression/irritability/self-injurious behaviour, hyperactivity/inattention and in sleep.
There is a paucity of systemic, well-conducted trials on the use of pharmacological agents in the management of PDD, and more research in this area is warranted.
Australian and New Zealand Journal of Psychiatry 05/2010; 44(5):410-28. · 2.93 Impact Factor
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ABSTRACT: Understanding that the conceptualization and manifestation of depression vary across cultures, in a preliminary study, Koh and colleagues (2002) identified a cultural model and a prototype measure of depression for Asian children. The present study sought to provide further examination of the initially identified conceptualization, manifestation, and measurement of depression in Asian children. Involving a community sample of 442 Singaporean Chinese children (6 to 12 years old), a culturally salient factor, Negative Social Self, was established to constitute part of depression, in addition to three universally recognized factors: Negative Affect and Cognitive Dysfunction, Loss of Interest, and Psychosomatic Manifestations. The Asian Children Depression Scale (ACDS) and Negative Social Self (NSS) were found to be positively related to hopelessness and negatively related to self-esteem, subjective well-being, and control-related beliefs, establishing support for convergent validity. Notably, NSS was found to account for significant incremental validity over that of the universally recognized factors in predicting most of the above-mentioned variables, supporting its added value as a factor of depression in Asian children. The results suggested that the ACDS and the culturally salient dimension reflect the phenomenological experiences and manifestations of depression in Asian children.
Culture Medicine and Psychiatry 07/2007; 31(2):225-49. · 1.29 Impact Factor
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ABSTRACT: This study explored gender differences in life stressors of children and adolescents who died by suicide. Three main classes of life stressors have been identified by previous research to be significant risk factors for suicide in children and adolescents: interpersonal/relationship problems, family problems, and academic/school problems.
The sample consisted of 156 (89 males and 67 females) completed child and adolescent suicides in Singapore from 1995 to 2003. The age of these individuals ranged from 10 to 19 years with a mean age of 16.49 (SD = 2.59).
Significantly more females were found to have had interpersonal/ relationship problems as recent life stressors compared with males. No gender differences were found for the other two life stressors, family problems and academic/school problems. In addition, among the three life stressors studied, only interpersonal/relationship problems emerged as a significant predictor of female child and adolescent suicide.
Consistent with previous research literature, these findings contribute to a growing literature documenting the relatively larger impact of relational life stressors on child and adolescent female suicidality. Implications for suicide intervention and prevention, especially among young females, were discussed.
International Journal of Social Psychiatry 12/2006; 52(6):561-70. · 1.15 Impact Factor
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ABSTRACT: Items covering both core and culture-specific facets of depression were generated based on literature review and clinical experience. They were modified following focus group discussions with depressed adolescents and adolescents in the community. The newly constructed Asian Adolescent Depression Scale (AADS) was administered to a clinical and a community sample of adolescents together with other rating scales. The AADS comprised 4 factors (negative self-evaluation, negative affect, cognitive inefficiency and lack of motivation) and demonstrated sound psychometric properties. Negative socially oriented self-evaluation and cognitive inefficiency were important in Singaporean adolescents' conceptualization of depression and are likely to be Asian culture-specific dimensions.
Journal of Adolescence 01/2005; 27(6):677-89. · 2.05 Impact Factor
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ABSTRACT: Items covering both core and culture-specific facets of depression were generated based on literature review and clinical experience. They were modified following focus group discussions with depressed adolescents and adolescents in the community. The newly constructed Asian Adolescent Depression Scale (AADS) was administered to a clinical and a community sample of adolescents together with other rating scales. The AADS comprised 4 factors (negative self-evaluation, negative affect, cognitive inefficiency and lack of motivation) and demonstrated sound psychometric properties. Negative socially oriented self-evaluation and cognitive inefficiency were important in Singaporean adolescents’ conceptualization of depression and are likely to be Asian culture-specific dimensions.
Journal of Adolescence.
