Convergent validity of K-SADS-PL by comparison with CBCL in a Portuguese speaking outpatient population

Background: Different diagnostic interviews in child and adolescent psychiatry have been developed in English but valid translations of instruments to other languages are still scarce especially in developing countries, limiting the comparison of child mental health data across different cultures. the present study aims to examine the convergent validity of the Brazilian version of the Schedule for Affective Disorders and Schizophrenia for School Age Children/Present and Lifetime Version (K-SADS-PL) by comparison with the Child Behavior Checklist (CBCL), a parental screening measure for child/adolescent emotional/behavior problems.Methods: An experienced child psychiatrist blind to CBCL results applied the K-SADS-PL to a consecutive sample of 78 children (6-14 years) referred to a public child mental health outpatient clinic (response rate = 75%). Three K-SADS-PL parameters were considered regarding current disorders: parent screen interview rates, clinician summary screen interview rates, and final DSM IV diagnoses. Subjects were classified according to the presence/absence of any affective/anxiety disorder, any disruptive disorder, and any psychiatric disorder based on K-SADS-PL results. All subjects obtained T-scores on CBCL scales (internalizing, externalizing, total problems).Results: Significant differences in CBCL mean T-scores were observed between disordered and non-disordered children. Compared to children who screened negative, children positive for any affective/anxiety disorder, any disruptive disorder, and any psychiatric disorder had a higher internalizing, externalizing and total problem T-score mean, respectively. Highly significant differences in T-score means were also found when examining final diagnoses, except for any affective/anxiety disorder.Conclusions: Evidence of convergent validity was found when comparing K-SADS-PL results with CBCL data.Pan American Health Organization [Programa de Subvenciones para la Investigacion]Univ Fed Rio de Janeiro, Inst Psychiat, Child & Adolescent Psychiat Div, BR-22071110 Rio de Janeiro, BrazilUniversidade Federal de São Paulo, Dept Psychiat, Social Psychiat Div, BR-04038030 São Paulo, BrazilUniversidade Federal de São Paulo, Dept Psychiat, Social Psychiat Div, BR-04038030 São Paulo, BrazilPan American Health Organization [Programa de Subvenciones para la Investigacion]: HDP/HDR/RG-T(81.7)BRA/3007Web of Scienc

Construct validity and development of local norms in the assessment of ADHD.

A pilot study was performed to determine the validity of on-task behavior and locally developed attention tasks# to assist in the identification of children with ADHD. Subjects were third grade students in the Hampton City Public Schools. Means and standard deviations were computed for time-on-task as well as number correct and number committed for each of five separate attention tasks. A correlation analysis was performed to compare results of attention tasks with each other as well as with the Abbreviated Conners Teacher\u27s Scale (ACTS), a Hyperactivity Index, and IQ. Results were in the expected direction, although correlations with ACTS were lower than anticipated. A discussion of the results and suggestions for future studies are given

Factores de riesgo de los transtornos de ansiedad en la infancia y adolescencia : Una revisión

En esta revisión se presentan los hallazgos más importantes encontrados en la literatura sobre los factores de riesgo de los trastornos de ansiedad en la infancia y adolescencia. En primer lugar se describen aquellas variables disposicionales del niño como el temperamento, autoestima, sexo... que pueden constituir potenciales factores de riesgo de ansiedad. A continuación se hace referencia a factores de tipo genético, familiar, ambiental y social, para finalmente acabar presentando dos modelos que integran el conjunto de estos factores y así poder abordar de una forma más completa y comprensible la génesis de los trastornos de ansiedad en la infancia. Las conclusiones a las que se llega es que, pese el creciente conocimiento de los factores que intervienen en la gestación de los trastornos de ansiedad, la etiología de los mismos está todavía por conocer. Asimismo, se subraya la necesidad de considerar la confluencia o interacción entre múltiples factores de riesgo para explicar la etiología de estos trastornos, más que los efectos aislados que puedan estar ejerciendo cada uno de ellos sobre el individu

An Examination of the Ohio Scales, Short Form, Hopefulness Domain, Youth- and Caregiver-Report Versions in a Community Care Setting

M.A

Polynomial Regression Analyses of Parental Desirable Responding

Child assessments have consistently yielded poor agreement between parent-child self-report measures and considerable research has failed to isolate the underlying source of the discrepancies. Validity testing has successfully been used to differentiate credible from non-credible performance, recognize feigned symptoms, and detect underestimates of ability in adults for decades (Sherman, 2015). Despite these potential benefits, attention to the importance of validity testing in the child assessment literature has been largely neglected. Many psychologists believe children are not capable of feigning or exaggerating their symptoms and lack the underlying motivations and incentives for deception found in adult assessments. Whereas, more research is needed to determine the legitimacy of these beliefs, the reliance on parental reports when assessing child symptoms provides an opportunity to integrate symptom validity testing into child assessment practices by using a population where it has already been proven effective. The current study utilized polynomial regression analyses in order to determine whether an embedded symptom validity measure could predict symptom agreement across informants. Participants included 220 children (42.7% female) ages 11-17 (M = 12.52, SD = 1.43) and their parents. Four separate polynomial regression analyses were conducted across symptom constructs for which children are commonly referred for outpatient treatment services (depression, anxiety, inattention, and aggression). Results showed that parental desirable responding was detected across several constructs and predicted informant discrepancies in anxiety and aggression symptoms

The use of visualization in the treatment of substance abusing adolescents

The purpose of this study was to investigate the effectiveness of visualization in the treatment of adolescents who abuse substances. This study measured whether the use of visualization had an impact on levels of depression, acting out behavior and ego development.;The sample consisted of 63 teenagers between the ages of 13 and 18 who had been referred to a residential group home by the court system. The adolescents were evaluated using the Child Behavior Checklist, the Beck Depression Inventory, and the Washington University Sentence Completion Test. The subjects were evaluated at the beginning of the study and again at the end of four weeks of visualization.;The research indicated that the experimental subjects were significantly less depressed at the end of the study. There were no statistical differences found in acting out behavior or in level of ego development

Interviewing Children: Development of the Dutch version of the Semistructured Clinical Interview for Children and Adolescents (SCICA) and testing of the psychometric properties

Psychopathology in children and adolescents can be an enormous source of concem because of interference with the developmental process in the growing child. Understanding of the nature and causes of child and adolescent psychiatric disorder, accompanied by increases in therapeutic efficacy, can help to enlarge the power of effective prevention and intervention (Rutter, 1988). In endeavors to expand knowledge of the nature and causes of emotional and behavioral disorders in children and adolescents the diagnostic process plays an important role. The diagnostic process comprises two essential elements, assessment and taxonomy. In the assessment process, distinguishing features in behaviors and emotions of individuals are identified. Various instmments and procedures can be used in this process to identify the distinguishing features of each individual case. The grouping of these cases according to their distinguishing features (similarities and differences) is accounted for by the concept of taxonomy. In the taxonomic process constmcts are generated by grouping distinguishing features on hierarchical levels of defining characteristics such as individual problems (symptoms), symptom aggregates (syndromes) or etiological factors

In Whose Best Interest? Using an Experimental Vignette to Assess Factors Influencing Placement Decisions in Child Welfare

Building on prior research that utilizes clinical vignettes to analyze child welfare placement decisions (Briar, 1963; Britner & Mossler, 2002; Donnelly, 1980; Drury-Hudson, 1999; Gold, et al., 2001; Taylor, 2006), the present study employs an experimental format to assess the relative importance that social workers place on variables related to placement decisions, and to study any differences regarding decision making that may emerge amongst the child welfare professionals themselves. The study consists of a single hypothetical vignette that will be sent to social workers in the state of Illinois. Prior to administration of the questionnaire, multiple experts in the field of child welfare were consulted in order to ensure that the vignette is a realistic depiction of a placement scenario. The study was sent via postal mail to social workers who are both experts and novices within the field of child welfare. The respondents indicated if their preferred placement option would be community-based or residential and completed a portion of a standardized assessment tool based on their impressions of the child in the vignette. The respondents also answered basic demographic questions about themselves, such as the type of clients that they typically work with and the number of years they have been at their job. Finally, the respondents answered questions pertaining to specific experience in decision making in the child welfare domain. The entire study was designed to be completed by the respondents in about five minutes