Validity and reability of the CBCL/6-18. Includes DSM scales.

INTRODUCTION: The Child Behavior Checklist (CBCL/6-18) is the most commonly used parent-completed instrument that assesses child and adolescent psychopathology. It has been used in epidemiology and clinical studies. The last version contains DSM-oriented subscales. OBJECTIVE: Investigate the psychometric properties of the CBCL/6-18 and develops a valid and reliable Mexican version. METHOD: Psychologists and child psychiatrists adapted the Spanish version of CBCL/6-18, and a back translation was done by a native English speaker. Discrepancies in the adaptation were solved by consensus. The checklist was applied to children in the community and to outpatients from a psychiatric children hospital. Reliability was evaluated by estimating internal consistency (Cronbach's alpha) on all scales: retest at one week was evaluated with intraclass correlation coefficients (ICC). A ROC curve was performed to estimate a cut-off which correctly identified children from the clinically referred patients and children recruited in the community (non-referred). Mean differences for the groups were calculated with the Student's t test. RESULTS: The Mexican version of the CBCL/6-18 showed that the Cronbach's alpha coefficient was 0.90 for internalizing problems, 0.94 for externalizing problems and 0.97 for the total problem scale. The ICC was 0.97 for the total problem scale. Significant differences were found between the mean score in broad band, narrow and the new DSM/oriented scales. CONCLUSIONS: The Mexican version of CBCL/6-18 is a reliable and valid screening instrument for clinical and epidemiologic use.

[Psychosocial adaptation in children and adolescents with craniofacial malformations]. / La adaptación psicosocial en niños y adolescentes con malformaciones craneofaciales.

To determine children's perception of their own psychosocial functioning, to compare it with their parents' perception, and determine the type and rate of their psychopathological syndromes and family functioning, and to investigate correlation among these data. Nineteen children with craniofacial deformities and their parents responded to the Columbia Impairment Scale, the Child Behavior Checklist and the McMaster General Functioning Subscale. Psychosocial impairment is a trend in children with craniofacial deformities. There is a correlation between children's and parents' perception of the patient's psychosocial adaptation, global psychopathology and externalizing and aggressive syndromes. A less strong correlation was found with internalizing, somatization and attention deficit syndromes, and with family functioning. Craniofacial deformities in childhood pose special risks for psychosocial adjustment due to type of illness and environmental and family factors.

[Liaison psychiatry at a neonatal intensive care unit. Interphase between psychiatry of the infant and neonatology]. / Psiquiatría de enlace en una unidad de cuidados intensivos neonatales. Interfase entre la psiquiatría del lactante y la neonatología.

A description is made of the situation of neonates and their families during hospitalization in the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU). Emphasis is made on the stressful situations faced by the infants, the families and the caregivers as well as on potential interventions to ameliorate their negative impact and to promote a favorable outcome. With the infants, the situation is one of overwhelming aversive stimulation, noncontingent responses and painful procedures, coupled with deprivation of normative experiences, propiciated by their illness and the structure of the unit. With the families, their feelings of impotence, guilt, and separation from their infant are highlighted, and interventions are described that may help them in this situation of crisis. With the staff the intervention consists on education and sensitization to the infant's needs. The liaison psychiatrist is the infant's voices with the families and the staff. The literature is reviewed in terms of the potential effects of favorable stimulation and of the negative experiences of neonates while at the NICU.