The increase in the number of children attending preschools or day care centers has provided an opportunity for early detection of emotional problems. However, few screening instruments have been standardized for children in this age group. A modification of Rutter's Children's Behaviour Questionnaire was standardized on a sample of 496 normal and 102 disturbed preschool children. The modified questionnaire (renamed the Preschool Behavior Questionnaire) was found to possess criterion validity and high interrater and test-retest reliabilities. Three factors were extracted and were labeled Hostile-Aggressive, Anxious-Fearful, and Hyperactive-Distractible. The data indicated that the Preschool Behavior Questionnaire may be valuable in either clinical or research settings for the first step in early detection of emotional problems. With many preschool-aged children now attending nursery schools, day care centers, and kindergartens, there exists an increasing opportunity to screen children earlier for developing behavior problems. However, it is frequently difficult to identify children with early signs and symptoms of emotional problems in this age group, for few standardized instruments exist to assess the social emotional functioning of young children or to differentiate normal behavior from deviant behavior in this age group. Many checklists, rating scales, and other screening instruments have been developed for school-aged children (Digman, 1963;

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