Psychometric properties of the ASEBA Child Behaviour Checklist and Youth Self-Report in sub-Saharan Africa - A systematic review.

OBJECTIVE: Behavioural screening tools may be used to identify at-risk children in resource-limited settings in sub-Saharan Africa. The ASEBA forms (Child Behaviour Checklist and Youth Self-Report) are frequently translated and adapted for use in sub-Saharan African populations, but little is known about their measurement properties in these contexts. METHODS: We conducted a systematic review of all published journal articles that used the ASEBA forms with sub-Saharan African samples. We evaluated the reported psychometric properties, as well as the methodological quality of the psychometric evaluations, using COSMIN (COnsensus-based Standards for the selection of health Measurement INstruments) guidelines. RESULTS: Fifty-eight studies reported measurement properties of the ASEBA forms. Most studies came from Southern (n = 29, 50%) or East African (n = 25, 43%) countries. Forty-nine studies (84%) used translated versions of the tool, but details regarding the translation process, if available, were often sparse. Most studies (n = 47, 81%) only reported internal consistency (using coefficient alpha) for one or more subscale. The methodological quality of the psychometric evaluations ranged from 'very good' to 'inadequate' across all measurement properties, except for internal consistency. CONCLUSIONS: There is limited good quality psychometric evidence available for the ASEBA forms in sub-Saharan Africa. We recommend (i) implementing a standardised procedure for conducting and reporting translation processes and (ii) conducting more comprehensive psychometric evaluations of the translated versions of the tools.

Evaluating a novel high-density EEG sensor net structure for improving inclusivity in infants with curly or tightly coiled hair.

Electroencephalography (EEG) is an important tool in the field of developmental cognitive neuroscience for indexing neural activity. However, racial biases persist in EEG research that limit the utility of this tool. One bias comes from the structure of EEG nets/caps that do not facilitate equitable data collection across hair textures and types. Recent efforts have improved EEG net/cap design, but these solutions can be time-intensive, reduce sensor density, and are more difficult to implement in younger populations. The present study focused on testing EEG sensor net designs over infancy. Specifically, we compared EEG data quality and retention between two high-density saline-based EEG sensor net designs from the same company (Magstim EGI, Whitland, UK) within the same infants during a baseline EEG paradigm. We found that within infants, the tall sensor nets resulted in lower impedances during collection, including lower impedances in the key online reference electrode for those with greater hair heights and resulted in a greater number of usable EEG channels and data segments retained during pre-processing. These results suggest that along with other best practices, the modified tall sensor net design is useful for improving data quality and retention in infant participants with curly or tightly-coiled hair.

Longitudinal effects of prenatal alcohol exposure on visual neurodevelopment over infancy.

Prenatal alcohol exposure (PAE) affects neurodevelopment in over 59 million individuals globally. Prior studies using dichotomous categorization of alcohol use and comorbid substance exposures provide limited knowledge of how prenatal alcohol specifically impacts early human neurodevelopment. In this longitudinal cohort study from Cape Town, South Africa, PAE is measured continuously-characterizing timing, dose, and drinking patterns (i.e., binge drinking). High-density electroencephalography (EEG) during a visual-evoked potential (VEP) task was collected from infants aged 8 to 52 weeks with prenatal exposure exclusively to alcohol and matched on sociodemographic factors to infants with no substance exposure in utero. First trimester alcohol exposure related to altered timing of the P1 VEP component over the first 6 months postnatally, and first trimester binge drinking exposure altered timing of the P1 VEP components such that increased exposure was associated with longer VEP latencies while increasing age was related to shorter VEP latencies (n = 108). These results suggest alcohol exposure in the first trimester may alter visual neurodevelopmental timing in early infancy. Exploratory individual-difference analysis across infants with and without PAE tested the relation between VEP latencies and myelination for a subsample of infants with usable magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) T1w and T2w scans collected at the same time point as EEG (n = 47). Decreased MRI T1w/T2w ratios (an indicator of myelin) in the primary visual cortex (n = 47) were linked to longer P1 VEP latencies. Results from these two sets of analyses suggest that prenatal alcohol and postnatal myelination may both separately impact VEP latency over infancy. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2024 APA, all rights reserved).

Validity of the SNAP-IV For ADHD Assessment in South African Children With Neurodevelopmental Disorders.

This study investigated the psychometric properties of the Swanson, Nolan, and Pelham ADHD Rating Scale (SNAP-IV) in a sample of South African children with neurodevelopmental disorders (n = 201), primarily Autism Spectrum Disorder and Intellectual Disability. We conducted a confirmatory factor analysis to inspect the two-factor structure of the SNAP-IV. We also calculated ordinal coefficient alpha to estimate internal consistency. Fit statistics for the two-factor model approached acceptable levels. The model fit improved slightly after removing an item related to spoken language. The subscales had acceptable internal consistencies. Findings partially support the use of the SNAP-IV in this group of children. However, there are limitations to its performance in this population likely related to the presence of neurodevelopmental disorders.