International comparisons of behavioral and emotional problems in preschool children: parents’ reports from 24 societies

International comparisons were conducted of preschool children’s behavioral and emotional problems as reported on the Child Behavior Checklist for Ages 1½–5 by parents in 24 societies (N¼19,850). Item ratings were aggregated into scores on syndromes; Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders–oriented scales; a Stress Problems scale; and Internalizing, Externalizing, and Total Problems scales. Effect sizes for scale score differences among the 24 societies ranged from small to medium (3–12%). Although societies differed greatly in language, culture, and other characteristics, Total Problems scores for 18 of the 24 societies were within 7.1 points of the omnicultural mean of 33.3 (on a scale of 0–198). Gender and age differences, as well as gender and age interactions with society, were all very small (effect sizes<1%). Across all pairs of societies, correlations between mean item ratings averaged .78, and correlations between internal consistency alphas for the scales averaged .92, indicating that the rank orders of mean item ratings and internal consistencies of scales were very similar across diverse societies

The CBCL/1½–5’s DSM-ASD Scale: Confirmatory Factor Analyses Across 24 Societies

Previous research supports the CBCL/1½–5’s DSM-ASD scale (and its precursor, the DSM-PDP scale) as a Level 1 ASD screener. Confirmatory factor analyses (CFAs) with data from population samples in 24 societies (N = 19,850) indicated good measurement invariance across societies, especially for configural and metric invariance. Items 4. 25, 67, 80, and 98 may be especially good discriminators of ASD because they have tend to have low base rates, strong loadings on the ASD latent construct, and the best measurement invariance across societies. Further research is needed to test the discriminative power of these items in predicting ASD, but our strong measurement findings support the international psychometric robustness of the CBCL/1½–5’s DSM-ASD scale

International comparisons of emotionally reactive problems in preschoolers : CBCL/11/2-5 findings from 21 societies

Our goal was to conduct international comparisons of emotion regulation using the 9-item Emotionally Reactive (ER) syndrome of the Child Behavior Checklist for Ages 11/2-5. We analyzed parent ratings for 17,964 preschoolers from 21 societies, which were grouped into 8 GLOBE study culture clusters (e.g., Nordic, Confucian Asian). Omnicultural broad base rates for ER items ranged from 8.0% to 38.8%. Rank ordering for mean item ratings varied widely across societies (omnicultural Q = .50) but less so across culture clusters (M Q = .66). Societal similarity in mean item rank ordering varied by culture cluster, with large within-cluster similarity for Anglo (Q = .96), Latin Europe (Q = .74), Germanic (Q = .77), and Latin American (Q = .76) clusters, but smaller within-cluster similarity for Nordic, Eastern Europe, and Confucian Asian clusters (Qs = .52, .23, and .44, respectively). Confirmatory factor analyses of the ER syndrome supported configural invariance for all 21 societies. All 9 items showed full to approximate metric invariance, but only 3 items showed approximate scalar invariance. The ER syndrome correlated . 65 with the Anxious/Depressed (A/D) syndrome and .63 with the Aggressive Behavior syndrome. ER items varied in base rates and factor loadings, and societies varied in rank ordering of items as low, medium, or high in mean ratings. Item rank order similarity among societies in the same culture cluster varied widely across culture clusters, suggesting the importance of cultural factors in the assessment of emotion regulation in preschoolers

International comparisons of emotionally reactive problems in preschoolers: CBCL/11/2-5 findings from 21 societies

Our goal was to conduct international comparisons of emotion regulation using the 9-item Emotionally Reactive (ER) syndrome of the Child Behavior Checklist for Ages 11/2-5. We analyzed parent ratings for 17,964 preschoolers from 21 societies, which were grouped into 8 GLOBE study culture clusters (e.g., Nordic, Confucian Asian). Omnicultural broad base rates for ER items ranged from 8.0% to 38.8%. Rank ordering for mean item ratings varied widely across societies (omnicultural Q = .50) but less so across culture clusters (M Q = .66). Societal similarity in mean item rank ordering varied by culture cluster, with large within-cluster similarity for Anglo (Q = .96), Latin Europe (Q = .74), Germanic (Q = .77), and Latin American (Q = .76) clusters, but smaller within-cluster similarity for Nordic, Eastern Europe, and Confucian Asian clusters (Qs = .52, .23, and .44, respectively). Confirmatory factor analyses of the ER syndrome supported configural invariance for all 21 societies. All 9 items showed full to approximate metric invariance, but only 3 items showed approximate scalar invariance. The ER syndrome correlated . 65 with the Anxious/Depressed (A/D) syndrome and .63 with the Aggressive Behavior syndrome. ER items varied in base rates and factor loadings, and societies varied in rank ordering of items as low, medium, or high in mean ratings. Item rank order similarity among societies in the same culture cluster varied widely across culture clusters, suggesting the importance of cultural factors in the assessment of emotion regulation in preschoolers

International Comparisons of Behavioral and Emotional Problems in Preschool Children: Parents' Reports From 24 Societies

International comparisons were conducted of preschool children's behavioral and emotional problems as reported on the Child Behavior Checklist for Ages 11/2-5 by parents in 24 societies (N=19,850). Item ratings were aggregated into scores on syndromes; Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders-oriented scales; a Stress Problems scale; and Internalizing, Externalizing, and Total Problems scales. Effect sizes for scale score differences among the 24 societies ranged from small to medium (3-12%). Although societies differed greatly in language, culture, and other characteristics, Total Problems scores for 18 of the 24 societies were within 7.1 points of the omnicultural mean of 33.3 (on a scale of 0-198). Gender and age differences, as well as gender and age interactions with society, were all very small (effect sizes1%). Across all pairs of societies, correlations between mean item ratings averaged .78, and correlations between internal consistency alphas for the scales averaged .92, indicating that the rank orders of mean item ratings and internal consistencies of scales were very similar across diverse societies