Correlates of competence in a child psychiatric population.

This study examined the relation between individual and composite measures of child competence with family background and adult ratings of psychopathology. A battery of psychological tests, generally considered to reflect competent functioning, was administered to 180 children, aged 6–12 years, who were consecutively referred to a psychiatric outpatient clinic. Generally, children who scored high on a composite competence index were rated by parents and teachers as showing fewer problems, which is consistent with observations in nonclinical samples. Moreover, analysis of the composite competence index supported the view that children with even a moderate degree of competence have an advantage. Two findings of this study differed from those observed in nonclinical samples. First, a composite measure of child competence was more likely than single measures to be related to parent and teacher ratings of competence and problems. Second, girls were generally less competent than boys. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)