Evaluation of the Pediatric Symptom Checklist as a screening tool for the identification of emotional and psychosocial problems

Abstract

OBJECTIVE To investigate the Brazilian version of Pediatric Symptom Checklist (PSC) as a screening tool to identify psychosocial and emotional problems in schoolchildren from six to 12 years old. METHODS Diagnostic test conducted in a public school of Curitiba, Paraná (Southern Brazil), to evaluate the PSC accuracy and consistency, considering the Child Behavior Checklist (CBCL) as the gold standard. Among 415 parents invited for the study, 145 responded to both PSC and CBCL. The results of the two instruments were compared. PSC and CBCL were considered positive if scores ≥28 and >70 respectively. RESULTS Among the 145 cases, 49 (33.8%) were positive for both PSC and CBCL. The ROC curve showed the PSC score of 21 as the best cutoff point for screening psychosocial and emotional problems, with a sensitivity of 96.8% and a specificity of 86.7%. Regarding the reference cutoff (score ≥28 points), the sensitivity was 64.5% and the specificity, 100.0%, similar to those found in the original version of the tool. CONCLUSIONS The Portuguese version of PSC was effective for early identification of emotional and/or psychosocial problems in a schoolchildren group and may be useful for pediatricians.

Application of Youth Self-Report for Age 11-18 for Screening of Mental Disorders in the Adolescence

“…The score for EP was similar to that found in a study conducted in Brazil and well above those reported in two American studies, both of which used the CBCL and one of which also used the YSR. The analysis of IP in our study showed a higher percentage when compared with the Brazilian and American studies [7,9,10].…”

“…This wide variation in MD prevalence rates may result from the methodology applied, cultural factors, use of different criteria for the definition of "case" and absence of a gold standard that can be uniformly adopted [14,18,19]. 14% of the cohorts showed risk for emotional and psychosocial problems [7,9,20]. In Social Competence, there was a higher percentage of the clinical when compared with the borderline classification, and the difference when only the male gender was considered was significant in both the Activities and Social Competence (S) scales.…”

A articulação da rede de proteção à criança e a aplicação intersetorial do círculo de segurança como alternativas à medicalização

“…- 10 A more careful and detailed analysis of the whole context allows for the conclusion that the child's behavior is due more to structural problems of the family dynamics and the pedagogical model of the daycare center than to an organic illness or personality disorder.…”

“…- 10 A análise mais criteriosa e elaborada de todo o contexto possibilita a conclusão de que a conduta da criança se deve mais a problemas estruturais de dinâmica familiar e do modelo pedagógico da creche do que à doença orgânica ou transtorno de personalidade.…”

Estudo das comorbidades psiquiátricas na paralisia cerebral

“…Consiste de um questionário de 35 itens, aplicado aos pais ou cuidadores, e que refletem a impressão destes do comportamento e desenvolvimento da criança. O ponto de corte para risco positivo é ≥ 28 pontos(Muzzolon et al, 2013). aplicado por neuropsicóloga da equipe do centro de reabilitação.…”