Exploring behavioral problems in Dutch-Moroccan youth

Doreleijers, T.A.H. [Promotor]Domburgh, L. van [Copromotor]Nauta-Jansen, L.M.C. [Copromotor

Instruments Measuring Externalizing Mental Health Problems in Immigrant Ethnic Minority Youths: A Systematic Review of Measurement Properties

Background:Little is known about reliability and validity of instruments measuring externalizing mental health problems in immigrant ethnic minority youths.Aims:To provide an overview of studies on measurement properties of instruments measuring these problems in immigrant ethnic minority youths, their methodological quality and results.Methods:A systematic review of the literature in MEDLINE, EMbase, PsycINFO and Cochrane Library was performed. Evaluation of methodological quality of studies found was done by using the 'COSMIN-checklist'. Full text, original articles, published in English after 1990 were included. Articles had to concern the development or evaluation of the measurement properties of self-reported, parent-reported and/or teacher- or clinician-reported questionnaires assessing or screening externalizing mental health problems in immigrant ethnic minority youths. Specific results of analyses on (an) immigrant ethnic minority group had to be given.Results:Twenty-nine studies evaluating 18 instruments met our criteria. Most studies concerned instruments with known validity in Western populations, tested mainly in African Americans. Considering methodological quality, inequivalences between ethnicities were found, self-reports seemed to perform better, and administration of an instrument influenced reliability and validity.Conclusion:It seems that the majority of instruments for assessing externalizing problems in immigrant ethnic minority youths is currently not sufficiently validated. Further evaluating existing instruments is crucial to accurately assess and interpreted externalizing problems in immigrant ethnic minority youths. © 2013 Paalman et al

Longitudinal effects of sibling relationship quality on adolescent problem behavior: A cross-ethnic comparison

The aim of the present study was to examine whether adolescents of Moroccan and Dutch origin differ concerning sibling relationship quality and to examine whether the associations between quality of the sibling relationship and level and change in externalizing and internalizing problem behavior are comparable for Moroccan and Dutch adolescents. Five annual waves of questionnaire data on sibling support and conflict as well as externalizing problems, anxiety and depression were collected from 159 ethnic Moroccan adolescents (Mage = 13.3 years) and from 159 ethnic Dutch adolescents (Mage = 13.0 years). Our findings demonstrated significant mean level differences between the Moroccan and Dutch sample in sibling relationship quality, externalizing problems, and depression, with Moroccan adolescents reporting higher sibling relationship quality and less problem behavior. However, effects of sibling relationship quality on externalizing problems, anxiety, and depression were similar for the Moroccan and Dutch samples. Sibling support was not related to level of externalizing problems, nor to changes in externalizing problems, anxiety, and depression. Additionally, more sibling conflict was related to a higher starting level of and faster decreases in problem behaviors. Our results support the ethnic equivalence model, which holds that the influence of family relationships is similar for different ethnic groups. Moreover, sibling support and conflict affect both the level and the fluctuations in problem behavior over time in specific ethnic groups similarly. Implications for future studies and interventions are subsequently discussed