Testing Multicultural Robustness of the Child Behavior Checklist in a National Epidemiological Sample in Uruguay

Abstract

Comparisons of Child Behavior Checklist (CBCL) scores from 31 societies (Rescorla et al. Journal of Emotional and Behavioral Disorders 15:13-142 2007) supported the instrument's multicultural robustness, but none of these societies was in South America. The present study tested the multicultural robustness of the 2001 CBCL using data from a national epidemiological survey in Uruguay. Participants were 1,374 6- to 11-year-olds recruited through 65 schools nationwide; 1,098 (80%) had received no mental health or special education services in the past year (non-referred group), whereas 276 (referred group) had been referred for mental health services, had repeated ≥ 2 grades, or had significant developmental disabilities. Mean item ratings, factor structure, and scale internal consistencies were very similar to findings reported by Rescorla et al. (Journal of Emotional and Behavioral Disorders 15:13-142 2007) and Ivanova et al. (Journal of Clinical Child and Adoloescent Psychology 36: 405-417 2007). Children from low SES school environments obtained higher problem scores, especially in the referred group. Gender, age, and referral status effects paralleled those in the U.S. Non-referred children obtained somewhat higher mean problem scores in Uruguay than in the U.S., but mean score differences between non-referred and referred children were smaller in Uruguay than the U.S. Findings supporting the CBCL's multicultural robustness in a South American country extend the generalizability of findings reported by Rescorla et al. (Journal of Emotional and Behavioral Disorders 15:13-142 2007) for 31 societies.

The Network Structure of Childhood Psychopathology in International Adoptees

“…However, all the information in our study was reported by the parents, and more reliability would have been achieved had we used multiple informants. The CBCL scores we obtained could be considered relatively low compared to the results of previous cross-cultural studies (Viola et al 2011), especially given that we were focusing on a risk group. Thus, there may be cultural differences in reporting symptoms.…”

Behavior Problems in Children With Specific Language Impairment

“…29 The Preschool Age test for 1½-5-year-old children uses the 7-syndrome model, including I, emotionally reactive; II, anxious/depressed; III, somatic complaints; IV, withdrawn; V, sleep problems; VI, attention problems; VII, aggressive behavior and other problems. Syndromes I to IV make up the internalizing syndromes, whereas VI and VII add to externalizing syndromes.…”

Mothers’ labor market choices and child development outcomes in Chile

“…The third measure captured socio-emotional development with the Spanish version of the Child Behavioral Checklist (CBCL 1), a validated, reliable, parent-completed checklist consisting of 99 items assessing a range of problem behaviors relating to socio-emotional well-being ( Achenbach & Rescorla, 2000 ). The CBCL has been validated in Argentina and Uruguay, two Latin American countries in the same region as Chile ( Corina, 2008 ); ( Viola, Garrido, & Rescorla, 2011 ). We reversed the scale so that higher values are associated with better development outcomes, as are the scales of the other two assessments that we use.…”