Parent and child discrepancies in reporting severity of problem behaviors in three out-of-home settings.

This study compared scores on the Child Behavior Checklist (CBCL) and Youth Self-Report (YSR) for samples of youths in 3 out-of-home placements with varying levels of restrictiveness. Mean CBCL T scores were more than a standard deviation higher than mean YSR T scores on the broadband scales and about 2/3 of a standard deviation higher on the syndrome scales. The magnitude of the discrepancy varied between placements for several scales, with the least restrictive placements having the largest difference between CBCL and YSR ratings for the Externalizing scale. For the Internalizing scale, the discrepancy was larger for older youths (ages 15–18) than for younger youths (ages 11–14). These results support previous findings that in clinical samples, adults rate children's behavioral and emotional problems as more severe than do children themselves. This study extends prior research by demonstrating the occurrence of this discrepancy across a continuum of care. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Discordant prolongation of the refractory period and repolarization time by a class III agent, E4031, in the healing phase of myocardial infarction

One hundred and ninety-eight adolescents and their mothers (N = 189) and fathers (N = 136) participated in a 4-year longitudinal study. Adolescent problem behaviour was assessed by the Youth Self-Report (YSR) and the Child Behavior Checklist (CBCL). In addition, parental stress and marital adjustment were determined. Results showed that mothers and fathers showed high agreement, especially about their daughters, whereas parents and adolescents showed little agreement. Agreement was higher for internalising than for externalising behaviours. In general, adolescents reported more symptomatology than their parents did. However, mothers' ratings of their children's behaviours were significantly correlated with adolescents' self-ratings, but fathers' ratings were not. Statistical tests of correlations showed that mothers experiencing stress caused by marital problems perceived more problem behaviours in their children. Fathers' perceptions were relatively unaffected by personal adjustment. However, poor marital adjustment perceived by both parents showed a significant negative relation to adolescent externalising problem behaviour.     

The Revised Memory and Behavior Problems Checklist-Nursing Home: Instrument Development and Measurement of Burden Among Certified Nursing Assistants.

Confirmatory factor analysis of the Revised Memory and Behavior Problems Checklist--Nursing Home (RMBPC) replicated the factor structure of the community-based RMBPC (L. Teri et al, 1992). The reliability of the total score was high as indexed by estimates of internal consistency (α=.95), test-retest reliability (r=.86), and interrater reliability between 2 interviewers (r=.88). Notably, the interrater reliability between 2 independent certified nursing assistants (CNAs) regarding residents' behavior problem frequency was more modest (r=.46), possibly reflecting the degree to which resident behaviors capture individual CNA's attention. This may have implications for the interpretation of data from the Minimum Data Set. CNAs reported moderately severe burden associated with behavior problems in 47% of residents under their care. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Influence of ethnic factors on behavior problems in indigenous Sami and majority Norwegian adolescents

OBJECTIVE: To explore the relationship between behavior problems and ethnic factors in indigenous minority Sami and Norwegian majority adolescents in northern Norway. METHOD: The Youth Self-Report (YSR) was completed by 249 Sami and 210 Norwegian students in junior high school, aged 13 to 16 years. Parents completed the Child Behavior Checklist (CBCL). Behavior problems were assessed in relation to ethnicity and ethnic context (geographic region and family context). RESULTS: Rates of behavior problems (CBCL and YSR) were generally high in both ethnic groups and were highest among girls. Sami adolescents, particularly those living in assimilated ethnic communities, reported more behavior problems than Norwegian adolescents. CONCLUSION: Ethnic factors have significant impact on behavior problems in indigenous minority adolescents living in a multiethnic context.     

Apolipoprotein E (ApoE) peptide regulates tau phosphorylation via two different signaling pathways

OBJECTIVE: The aim of this study was to compare levels of emotional and behavioural problems and competencies among immigrant and non-immigrant adolescents, and to determine factors that may contribute to any differences reported. METHOD: Subjects were selected randomly from students aged 12-16 years attending a high school with a high proportion of immigrants in Perth, Western Australia. Parents completed the Child Behaviour Checklist (CBCL), and students completed the Youth Self-Report (YSR) and a Personal History Questionnaire. RESULTS: On univariate analyses, non-immigrant adolescents had significantly higher CBCL and YSR scores than immigrant adolescents. Multivariate analyses suggested that CBCL scores were predicted by a number of variables other than immigration, including family intactness, socioeconomic status (SES) and gender. Higher YSR scores were predicted by non-intact families, school setting and non-immigrant status, and higher competencies scores were predicted by higher SES and parents not being immigrants. CONCLUSIONS: In assessing the effects of immigration on adolescent mental health, it is important to control for factors associated with adolescent behavioural and emotional problems and to use multiple informants. Overall, immigrant adolescents report fewer total and externalizing problems and fewer competencies than native-born adolescents. This finding may reflect strict immigration policies or cultural differences in definitions of psychopathology and the social expectations for adolescents' behaviour.     

Psychometric properties of the French and English versions of the Social Phobia Inventory.

The Social Phobia Inventory (SPIN; Connor et al., 2000) is a self-report measure assessing fear, avoidance, and physiological symptoms associated with social anxiety. To date, the psychometric properties of this English-language measure have been examined primarily in individuals with social phobia. This study examined the psychometric properties of the English SPIN and a newly developed French version of the SPIN in nonclinical groups of undergraduate students. The SPIN, along with several other questionnaires, was completed by 202 English-speaking and 222 French-speaking participants in their respective languages from three different universities. A subset of participants completed the questionnaire a second time approximately one month later to assess test-retest reliability. The SPIN total score exhibited excellent internal consistency and test-retest reliability, as well as strong convergent and divergent validity in both English and French. A revised confirmatory factor analysis suggested the three-factor model of the SPIN was a good fit in French and English; however, the psychometric properties of the fear, avoidance, and physiology subscales were not as strong as those of the total score of the SPIN. The excellent psychometric properties of the English and French SPIN total score support the use of this measure not only in clinical populations, but now also in a nonclinical student sample. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

The Youth Self-Report inventory: A study of its measurements fidelity.

Evaluated the measurement fidelity (i.e., reliability, factor structure, and validity) of T. M. Achenbach's (1966, 1991) Youth Self-Report (YSR) scale. Data from hospitalized psychiatric adolescents were used to test the unidimensionality of each narrow band syndrome and to conduct confirmatory factor analysis on broadband syndromes. Three competing models regarding broadband syndromes were constructed and compared with the structure reported by Achenbach (1991). The results partly support Achenbach's findings in that 4 of the 7 narrowband syndromes were found to be valid. However, meaningful subdimensions were obtained for the other 3 narrowband syndromes. Confirmatory factor analysis revealed that internalizing and externalizing were valid broadband syndromes. However, 3 narrowband syndromes (Social Problems, Thought Problems, and Attention Problems) cross-loaded on both broadband syndromes. Important differences in broadband syndromes were found between boys and girls. Supplemental analyses on Time 2 data demonstrated the stability of these findings. Implications for future refinement of the YSR are discussed. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Acculturation experiences, appraisal, coping, and adaptation: A comparison of Hong Kong Chinese, French, and English students in Canada.

42 Chinese students from Hong Kong, 43 French-Canadian students, and 42 English-Canadian students completed questionnaires pertaining to various aspects of their lives and personalities, their coping styles, their psychological and physical health, and their satisfaction with their coping abilities. All 3 groups reported their 3 most serious problems at university to be uncertainty for the future, academic difficulties, and loneliness. However, the Chinese Ss experienced higher Trait Anxiety, more prejudice, more adaptation and communication problems, lower English language competence, and lower perceived social support of friends than the French and English Ss. In addition, the Chinese reacted to their problems with less positive-thinking and less tension-reduction coping responses than the French and English Ss, respectively. The Chinese Ss also experienced poorer health and lower coping satisfaction. (French abstract) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Reliabilities and intercorrelations of eight measures of proneness to psychosis.

Scales thought to measure psychosis proneness—Eysenck Personality Questionnaire Psychoticism scale; the Schizoidia scale; composite scales for the MMPI 2-7-8 and 2-7-8-0 profiles; and Physical Anhedonia, Perceptual Aberration, Magical Ideation, and Nonconformity scales—were compared on their coefficient-alpha estimate of reliability and were intercorrelated, using 7,614 college students and 340 outpatient clinic clients. Test–retest reliability was examined for 5 of the scales using 511 college students. The Psychoticism and Nonconformity scales were found to measure the same pathology, but the Nonconformity scale did so more reliably. The Schizoidia scale was found to measure the same pathology as the MMPI 2-7-8 and 2-7-8-0 scales, but the longer MMPI scales did so more reliably. The Magical Ideation and Perceptual Aberration scales were highly correlated, and both had a negative correlation with the Physical Anhedonia scale. The MMPI 2-7-8 and 2-7-8-0 scales correlated positively with all of the other scales, indicating that these MMPI composite scales are sensitive to more than one kind of pathology. (24 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Epidemiological comparisons of American and Dutch adolescents' self-reports

OBJECTIVE: To determine the cross-cultural applicability of self-reports of adolescents' problems and competencies. METHOD: Youth Self-Reports (YSRs) were completed by 803 American and 803 Dutch nonreferred adolescents matched by gender, age, and socioeconomic status. RESULTS: Comparisons revealed that American adolescents reported many more problems than did Dutch adolescents. This finding contrasts sharply with the American/Dutch similarities in parents' and teachers' reports of children's problem behaviors. Competence scores also were much higher for the American than the Dutch sample. CONCLUSIONS: Cutpoints for discriminating the normal and the clinical range of YSR scores need to be adjusted to local norms for the Dutch sample. Cultural factors may be responsible for the cross-national differences.     

Diagnostic Interview Schedule for Children (DISC-2.25) in Quebec: reliability findings in light of the MECA study

OBJECTIVE: To examine the reliability of the French Diagnostic Interview Schedule for Children (DISC-2.25) in Quebec in light of other DISC-2 studies conducted in the National Institute of Mental Health's Methods for the Epidemiology of Child and Adolescent Mental Disorders Study. METHOD: Reliability was assessed for DSM-III-R disorders in a community sample comprising 260 parents of youths aged 6 to 14 years and 145 adolescents aged 12 to 14 years. The DISC was completed at home. The mean test-retest interval was 13.8 days for parents and 12.8 days for adolescents. RESULTS: Parents' reports: Internal consistency was acceptable for a majority of disorders. The kappa coefficients were in the fair or good ranges except for depressive disorders and were higher for children than for adolescents, and intraclass correlations were higher than kappa coefficients. Adolescents' reports: Internal consistency was acceptable or nearly acceptable for a majority of disorders. The kappa coefficients were in the fair range, and intraclass correlations were higher than kappa coefficients. The kappa coefficients were significantly higher for the test-retest interval of 7 to 14 days than for 14 to 21 days for adolescents' reports of anxious disorders and internalizing disorders. CONCLUSION: The French DISC-2.25 shows acceptable internal consistency and fair to good test-retest reliability. Across DISC-2 studies, test-retest reliability of the parents' reports improved for anxiety and depressive disorders. Among sources of variation, studies on attributes of questions would be meaningful.     

Maternal and adolescent ratings of psychopathology in young offender and non-clinical males.

Compared maternal and youth ratings of the youths' adjustment using the Child Behavior Checklist and Youth Self-Report with 50 young offenders and 51 non-clinical males (aged 12–16 yrs). While delinquent youths were in the clinical range only on the delinquent behavior subscale, maternal ratings were in the clinical range on most subscales. By contrast, maternal and youth reports in controls showed comparable ratings on Internalizing scales, with normal adolescents endorsing significantly more Externalizing behavior problems than their mothers. Maternal and youth ratings in the controls were in the normal range on all scales. Possible causes of these differences between young offenders' and their mothers' reporting of symptoms are discussed, and implications of these findings for forensic assessment of adolescents are presented. (French abstract) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

élaboration et validation d'échelles d'attitudes envers la lecture en fran?ais langue première, de motivation et d'anxiété envers la lecture en anglais langue seconde.

This study describes the steps involved in developing and validating three measurement scales, namely: Attitudes towards reading in French as a first language (L1), motivation to read in English as a second language (L2), and anxiety about reading in L2. The validity was investigated with a sample of 102 undergraduates who completed reading proficiency measures in addition to the aforementioned scales. Reliability was verified using the test-retest method with a distinct sample of 83 undergraduates. The validity of the psychometric features of the test was deemed satisfactory. Other analyses showed correlations between the three scales and the two reading proficiency measures taken for L1 and L2. The implications of the findings are discussed in terms of potential directions for future research in Internet learning, which inevitably involves reading. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Parent-Adolescent Disagreement Regarding Psychopathology in Adolescents From the General Population as a Risk Factor for Adverse Outcome.

This study investigated whether parent-adolescent disagreement regarding adolescents' behavioral and emotional problems predicted adverse outcome. A Dutch sample of 15- to 18-year-olds was prospectively followed across a 4-year interval. The Child Behavior Checklist (CBCL: T. M. Achenbach, 1997) and Youth Self-Report (YSR; T. M. Achenbach, 1991b) were administered at initial assessment, and the following signs of poor outcome were assessed 4 years later: police/judicial contacts, expulsion from school/job, suicidal ideation, unwanted pregnancy, suicide attempts, deliberate self-harm, referral to mental health services, report of having a behavioral or emotional problem, and feeling the need for professional help without actually receiving help. Twenty CBCL syndrome scores, 23 YSR syndrome scores, and 16 discrepancy scores were significant predictors of poor outcome. It was concluded that to determine the prognosis of psychopathology in adolescents, discrepancies between informants may be important. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Influences of gender and social class on adolescents' perceptions of health

OBJECTIVE: To explore how gender and social class affect perceptions of health status among 16-year-old adolescents. DESIGN: Cross-sectional survey. SETTING: University psychology laboratory. PARTICIPANS: Fifty upper-middle-class and 48 working-class adolescents stratified by gender. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: The general health perceptions (GHP) scale of the Medical Outcomes Survey 36-Item Short Form Health Survey (SF-36). The other self-reported health status domains and 3 measures of different aspects of psychological well-being were included as covariates in analysis of variance models. RESULTS: Upper-middle-class females reported the lowest and upper-middle-class males the highest GHP (76.7 vs 88.4, P=.003). A multivariate regression model (adjusted R2=0.08) revealed significant gender (P=.03) differences in GHP, but not a social class effect, and an interaction effect between gender and class (P=.01). With addition of psychological well-being covariates (P<.001), gender remained significant (P=.04) and a significant portion of the interaction effect (P=.13) was explained. When the self-reported physical health status scales (P<.001) were added to the model (adjusted R2=0.51), gender remained significant (P=.03) and the interaction effect was partially explained (P=.07). CONCLUSIONS: Gender is a crucial factor in understanding the complex relationships between sociostructural inequalities and health differentials. These data suggest that psychological well-being and self-reported physical health status mediate the effects of gender and the gender and social class interaction in explaining variation in GHP. Contrary to the social class gradient hypothesis, upper-middle-class females reported the lowest GHP. These results suggest that the paradigms applicable to early childhood and adulthood may not be appropriate to understand the complex dynamics of adolescence.     

Les inquiétudes chez les adolescents: Propriétés psychométriques de la version fran?ais du Penn State Worry Questionnaire for Children.

This study assessed, among a French high-school student sample (N=614), the psychometric properties of an adaptation for children and adolescents of the Penn State Worry Questionnaire. The factor structure, internal consistency, convergent/discriminant validity, and test-retest reliability were investigated. The results show that the single factor scale has good psychometric properties. The French version seems to be a useful and appropriate tool for clinicians and researchers assessing the tendency to worry among adolescents. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Propriétés psychométriques d'une version canadienne-fran?aise du Questionnaire des expériences dépressives.

The present study evaluates a French-Canadian version of the Depressive Experiences Questionnaire, originally developed by Blatt, D'Afflitti, et Quinlan (1976), to measure two personality dimensions predisposing to depressive affect, Dependency and Self-Criticism. Factor analysis with 762 undergraduate students showed a very high degree of conformity with the original version in terms of the number of factors, variance explained and the pattern of factor loadings for each scale. Congruence of factor scores calculated with the solutions derived from the English and French principal component analysis was very high, but somewhat lower for the Self-critical dimension for male subjects. The scales of the French-Canadian Questionnaire des Expériences Dépressives correlated with a measure of depression, and showed adequate test-retest reliability over an 8-week period. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Behavioral Assessment of Gambling: An Application of the Timeline Followback Method.

The Gambling Timeline Followback (G-TLFB), a measure of gambling behavior that uses the timeline followback methodology, was psychometrically evaluated with samples of frequent-gambling young adults. Seven dimensions of gambling behavior were assessed: type, frequency, duration, intent, risk, win-loss, and consumption of alcohol while gambling. The G-TLFB demonstrated adequate to excellent test-retest reliability with a sample of 57 frequent gamblers (r=.75 to .96) and with a group of 34 disordered gamblers (r=.73 to .93). With a separate sample of 58 frequent-gambling participants, convergent, concurrent, and discriminant validity were assessed. The G-TLFB correlated positively with daily self-monitoring reports (r=.59 to .87). The dimensions of frequency and duration demonstraied concurrent validity with gambling screening instruments, and standard drinks consumed while gambling demonstrated concurrent validity with a measure of alcohol misuse. The G-TLFB also demonstrated discriminant validity with demographic variables and a measure of positive impression management. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)