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Roskam, I., Stievenart, M., Brassart, E., Houssa, M., Loop, L., Mouton, B., Volckaert, A., Nader-Grosbois, N., Noël, M-P. & Schelstraete, M-A. (in press). The Unfair Card Game: a promising tool to assess externalizing behavior in preschoolers. Pratiques Psychologique.

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Abstract

The assessment of externalizing behavior (EB) in preschoolers is crucial in developmental psychopathology. In the absence of any gold standard measure, new tools contribute to a multi-method and multi-informant approach. The aim of the current study is to present and validate a new observational paradigm, the Unfair Card Game (UCG), intentionally structured to increase the likelihood that negative affect, agitation and inattention will emerge during a video-recorded task. It was administered to 268 young children, and the results were validated by means of factorial analysis, reliability analyses, inter-rater agreement, test-retest, discriminant analyses and external validation with the Child Behavior Checklist (Thomas M. Achenbach & Rescorla, 2004). The validity of the UCG is supported by the findings.

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This study examined (a) convergence between parents' and day care teachers' ratings of children's behavior problems, and (b) whether agreements and disagreements were associated with characteristics of the informant, context, or measures. Parents of 241, 2-4-year old children in day care centers serving low-income families completed measures of child behavior problems, parenting style, stress, depression, and self-efficacy. Teachers completed a measure of classroom behavior problems. There was a low correlation between parents' and teachers' ratings of child behavior (r=.17), and few children (2.5%) received high behavior problem scores from both parents and teachers. Cross-informant agreement on high behavior problem children was related to characteristics of the informants and home context. Implications for identifying children at risk are discussed.
Article
The aim of this study was to investigate the associations between children's difficulties (conduct problems, hyperactivity/impulsivity, and emotional symptoms) and peer victimization and rejection in kindergarten. For the assessment of children's difficulties, the authors used a multi-informant approach. A total of 153 five-year-old children were interviewed (Berkeley Puppet Interview). Teachers and parents completed the Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire. Teachers reported on peer victimization. Peer nominations (rejection and acceptance) were conducted in a subgroup of 92 children. Combining teacher, parent, and self-reports of children's difficulties, three components were established: trait (degree of problems), informant differences resulting from perspective (self versus others), and context (kindergarten versus home). Children's difficulties were significantly associated with teacher- and self-reported victimization and peer rejection (r = 0.20-0.35), but not with peer acceptance. Conduct problems and emotional symptoms, but not hyperactivity/impulsivity, contributed independently to the variance of peer victimization and rejection. Perspective differences between children and adults according to hyperactivity/impulsivity also predicted peer rejection. Behavioral and emotional difficulties as well as a lack of self-awareness regarding hyperactive/impulsive behavior may place children at risk of peer victimization and rejection. Child psychiatric assessments and therapeutic strategies should thus take children's self-perception of symptoms and their peer relationships into account.
Article
Attaining a developmentally sensitive nosology for preschool disruptive behavior requires characterization of the features that distinguish it from the normative misbehavior of this developmental period. We hypothesize that quality of behavior and its pervasiveness across contexts are critical dimensions for clinical discrimination in young children and propose that structured diagnostic observation provides a systematic method for their identification. We use the Disruptive Behavior Diagnostic Observation Schedule (DB-DOS) to examine whether: (a) observed quality and pervasiveness of behavior distinguishes preschoolers with clinically concerning disruptive behavior from typically developing preschoolers, and (b) observed pattern of clinically salient behavior predicts impairment above and beyond maternal report of behavioral frequency. Participants are a behaviorally heterogeneous sample of preschoolers (N = 327). Diagnostic methods developed for clinical assessment of preschoolers were used to classify children as (a) Non-Disruptive, (b) Sub-Clinical, or (c) Disruptive. Child behavior was coded based on interactions with parent and examiner during the DB-DOS. Quality and pervasiveness of observed behaviors during the DB-DOS significantly distinguished the three behavioral groups. Discriminative utility varied depending on the comparison. With few exceptions, clinically concerning patterns on the DB-DOS added significant incremental utility in predicting impairment. Observed patterns of clinically salient behavior show promise for advancing developmentally-informed characterization of disruptive behavior within the preschool period.
Article
Children's early problem behavior that manifests in multiple contexts is often more serious and stable. The concurrent and predictive validity of ratings of externalizing and internalizing by four informants was examined at preschool and early school age in an at-risk sample. Two hundred forty children were assessed by mothers and fathers (Child Behavior Checklist (CBCL)), and teachers and laboratory examiners (Teacher Report Form (TRF)) at ages 3 and 5 years. All informants' ratings of externalizing converged on a common factor at ages 3 and 5 that showed strong stability over time (beta = .80). All informants' age 3 externalizing ratings significantly predicted the problem factor at age 5; mothers', fathers', and teachers' ratings were independently predictive. Ratings of internalizing (except by examiners at age 3) also converged at both ages; the problem factor showed medium stability (beta = .39) over time. Only fathers' ratings of age 3 internalizing predicted the age 5 problem factor. Findings support the value of multi-informant assessment, uphold calls to include fathers in childhood research, and suggest that examiners provide valid, though non-unique assessment data. Examiner contributions may prove useful in many research contexts.
Article
To examine the validity of the Disruptive Behavior Diagnostic Observation Schedule (DB-DOS), a new observational method for assessing preschool disruptive behavior. A total of 327 behaviorally heterogeneous preschoolers from low-income environments comprised the validation sample. Parent and teacher reports were used to identify children with clinically significant disruptive behavior. The DB-DOS assessed observed disruptive behavior in two domains, problems in Behavioral Regulation and Anger Modulation, across three interactional contexts: Examiner Engaged, Examiner Busy, and Parent. Convergent and divergent validity of the DB-DOS were tested in relation to parent and teacher reports and independently observed behavior. Clinical validity was tested in terms of criterion and incremental validity of the DB-DOS for discriminating disruptive behavior status and impairment, concurrently and longitudinally. DB-DOS scores were significantly associated with reported and independently observed behavior in a theoretically meaningful fashion. Scores from both DB-DOS domains and each of the three DB-DOS contexts contributed uniquely to discrimination of disruptive behavior status, concurrently and predictively. Observed behavior on the DB-DOS also contributed incrementally to prediction of impairment over time, beyond variance explained by meeting DSM-IV disruptive behavior disorder symptom criteria based on parent/teacher report. The multidomain, multicontext approach of the DB-DOS is a valid method for direct assessment of preschool disruptive behavior. This approach shows promise for enhancing accurate identification of clinically significant disruptive behavior in young children and for characterizing subtypes in a manner that can directly inform etiological and intervention research.
Parent and interviewer versions of the children's global assessment scale
  • S Setterberg
  • H Bird
  • M Gould
  • D Schaffer
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Setterberg, S., Bird, H., Gould, M., Schaffer, D., & Fisher, P. (1992). Parent and interviewer versions of the children's global assessment scale. New York: Columbia University.
Coding system of the Unfair Card Game (UCG)
  • E Brassart
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Effects of one's emotional state on perspective-taking and prosocial behavior
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Bukowski, H. B., & Samson, D. (2012). Effects of one's emotional state on perspective-taking and prosocial behavior. Paper presented at the Annual meeting of the Society for Social Neuroscience New Orleans, USA.
Conners' Rating Scales – Revised. The use of psychological testing for treatment planning and outcomes assessment
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Kollins, S. H., Epstein, J. N., & Conners, C. K. (2004). Conners' Rating Scales – Revised. The use of psychological testing for treatment planning and outcomes assessment: Volume 2: Instruments for children and adolescents (3rd ed, pp. 215–233). Mahwah, NJ, US: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates Publishers.