Psychosocial health of 4-year-old boys and girls, as observed by parents and teachers

Both parents and teachers assessed the psychosocial health of 228 4-year-old children at the start of elementary school in the Netherlands. Assessments were conducted using the Child Behaviour Checklist (CBCL; ages 1 1/2-5) and the Caregiver-Teacher Report Form (C-TRF; ages 1 1/2-5). Results were compared to epidemiological studies with respect to informants, instruments, gender and age of the children. Most children in this study were thriving. The percentage of children without problems varied from 88 to 98%. The difference depended on the informant (parent or teacher) and the gender. Teachers recognized significantly more externalizing problems among girls and anxious/depressed problems among boys and girls. Parents reported more somatic complaints among girls. The problems identified by parents and teachers did not predominantly concern the same children. This has to be taken into account in the case of screening on psychosocial problems

An instrument for dimensional diagnosis of a child’s constitution (ICC)

Developmental disorders present themselves with complex problems that may threaten a child’s development. In every child a disorder shows itself in a unique way, which makes it necessary to individualize. The objective of this preliminary study is to develop an instrument that provides a dimensional diagnosis by mapping the degree of (dis)balance in three domains of child development. The instrument is based on anthroposophic anthropology and typology. The instrument will be usable in all kinds of care for children with developmental disorders.The typology of a child’s constitution was operationalized using concept mapping and consensus building with experts. Preliminary tests of the psychometric properties of the instrument were applied on children with developmental disorders in a pilot study in Dutch healthcare. The Instrument for diagnosis of a Child’s Constitution (ICC) developed in this study consists of two parts. Part I contains 36 polar formulated items in three subscales of 12 items and is to be completed by healthcare professionals. Part II consists of three VAS scales (Visual analogue scales) and is to be completed y a practitioner. The outcome (the scores of Part I and II) forms a profile of the child’s constitution, showing the (dis) balance in three domains of child development. A pilot study with 38 children shows positive face validity, and moderate internal consistency and inter-rater reliability of the ICC. The ICC has been developed as a diagnostic instrument to assess individualized dimensional diagnosis of children with a developmental disorder. Future studies will focus on validation of the instrument

Validity and Reliability of the Instrument for Assessing the Child’s Constitution (ICC): Individualising Processes in Diagnosing Children With a Developmental Disorder

In children developmental disorders expresses themselves by a variable presentation of symptoms and frequent manifestation of comorbidity of a complex nature. In addition to the classification of a disorder, individualising diagnostics is a means to realize assessment and treatment that are fine-tuned to the child. In the day to day care of children with a developmental disorder the Instrument for assessing the Child’s Constitution (ICC) is a supporting means to map out the child’s individual situation. The instrument is based on an anthroposophic anthropology and typology. It provides an individualised diagnosis by mapping the degree of (dis)balance in child development. In three developmental fields, the cognitive, the affective and the conative field, the (dis)balance of functioning is assessed by the ICC. The instrument consists of two parts. With reference to the three fields part I consists of 36 items, each having a subscale with 12 polar formulated items on a seven-point scale. For each of the three fields part II includes a visual analogue scale (VAS). The results of Part I and II are made comparable by putting them both on a ten-point scale. The results are graphically represented as a profile of the constitution. In this article we present the results of a study with the ICC on psychometric properties in a research group (n=535) and a control group (n=148). As reference of the assessment of the quality of the ICC a Consensus-based Standard for the selection of health Measurement Instruments is used

Wetenschappelijk verantwoorde casusbeschrijvingen vragen om methodische documentatie: De ontwikkeling van een documentatiemethode gebaseerd op de CARE-AAT-richtlijn

De maatschappelijke vraag naar onderbouwing van en evidentie voor vaktherapieën is aanleiding geweest om een documentatiemethode te ontwikkelen. De methode is gebaseerd op de CARE-AAT richtlijn voor publicatie van case reports en geoperationaliseerd met items afkomstig van beroepsbeoefenaren, opleiders en methodologen. De documentatiemethode, bruikbaar voor de disciplines kunstzinnige therapie beeldend, muziek en spraak/drama, is door zeven therapeuten in de praktijk gebruikt. Hij wordt volledig bevonden maar leidde slechts in een geval tot een dossier dat zonder meer bruikbaar is voor het schrijven van een wetenschappelijke casusbeschrijving. De documentatiemethode is verder geëxpliciteerd op basis van de praktijkervaringen en zal in vervolgonderzoek verder ontwikkeld moeten worden