Problems and Competencies Reported by Parents of Australian and American Children

Abstract

We compared problems and competencies reported for 2600 randomly selected nonreferred children in Sydney and the U.S.A. Sydney children scored significantly higher on 82 problem items, with a mean total problem score of 31.6 versus 20.1 for the U.S.A. Nevertheless, item scores correlated 0.92 between countries, most differences between competence scores were small, and patterns were similar for sex, age, socioeconomic status, and internalizing versus externalizing problems. Although higher clinical cutoffs may be needed in Sydney, the similarity of patterns in scores permits calibration of the Child Behavior Checklist between Sydney and the U.S.A. Sex differences found in seven cultures were summarized.

Behavioral and emotional problems among Chinese and American children: Parent and teacher reports for ages 6 to 13

“…Gender differences in this study were consistent with those found in previous studies of Chinese children (Ekblad, 1989;Xin et al, 1992), with analogous differences between boys and girls on other measures. They are also consistent with gender differences found in several other countries (Achenbach, Hensley, Phares, & Grayson, 1990).…”

“…In a comparison between 2,600 Australian and American 4-to 16-year-olds, Australian children obtained higher CBCL Total Problem scores than American children (31.6 versus 20.1), a medium effect accounting for 11% of the variance (Achenbach, Hensley, Phares, & Grayson, 1990). In a comparison between parent reports on 1,842 matched French and American children, American children tended to receive higher competence scores, while French children tended to receive higher problem scores (Stanger, Fombonne, & Achenbach, 1994).…”

Establishing the constructs of childhood behavioral disturbances in a Chinese population: A questionnaire study

“…Comparing with the U.S. children, Puerto Rican, Australian, and Thai parents have reported higher total problem scores using the Child Behavior Checklist (Achenbach, Bird, et al, 1990;Achenbach, Hensley, Phares, & Grayson, 1990;Weisz et al, 1987). While the actual prevalence rates of various disorders may differ from one place to another, it is plausible that some of the variations reflect different thresholds of recognition and reporting of particular problems.…”

A Russian adaptation of the child behavior checklist: Psychometric properties and associations with child and maternal affective symptomatology and family functioning

“…Puerto Rico) have documented interesting, albeit modest, differences in the frequency of behavioral and emotional problems that may reflect the contribution of cultural influences (Achenbach, Hensley, Phares, & Grayson, 1990;Achenbach, Verhulst, Baron, & Althaus, 1987;Achenbach, Verhulst, Edelbrock, Baron, & Akkerhuis, 1987;Brandenburg, Friedman, & Silver, 1990;Lambert, Weisz, & Knight, 1989;Weisz, Suwanlert, Chaiyasit, & Walter, 1987;Weisz et al, 1989). This study was undertaken to examine the feasibility of utilizing the Child Behavior Checklist (CBCL) in a genetic-epidemiologic project in the greater Moscow area.…”