In light of the findings that mother-completed checklists do not adequately reflect children's perceptions of their own adjustment, two child-completed questionnaires were assessed as screening measures for behavioral or emotional problems with 50 children seen for well-child examinations. Case criterion was child-reported DSM-III symptoms through a clinical interview. Support was provided for the Revised Children's Manifest Anxiety Scale but not the Children's Depression Inventory as a child-reported screening measure. Moreover, the findings indicated that both mother-completed and child-completed measures are needed to screen adequately for behavioral or emotional problems of children seen in a primary care pediatric clinic.
Child Behavior Disorders/diagnosis , Emotions , Pediatrics , Primary Health Care , Child , Female , Humans , Male , Psychiatric Status Rating Scales
Case identification indexes based on the mother-completed Missouri Children's Behavior Checklist (MCBC) were compared with pediatrician identification of behavioral and emotional problems in 41 children seen for well-child examinations. Case identification indexes also were examined as a function of child gender and age and maternal education. The criterion was presence of DSM-III diagnoses determined through Child Assessment Schedule interviews of child or mother. The MCBC yielded better case identification indexes and improvements in both overidentification and underidentification rates. Pediatrician identification indexes were directly related to maternal education and MCBC identification indexes were inversely related to child age. The findings indicate the necessity for including child report, as well as mother report, in screening procedures that are incorporated into primary care pediatric practice.
Child Behavior Disorders/diagnosis , Pediatrics/organization & administration , Primary Health Care/statistics & numerical data , Child , Educational Status , Female , Humans , Male , Mothers , Pediatrics/standards , Psychiatric Status Rating Scales , Sex Factors
Not keeping scheduled visits for medical care is a major health care issue. Little research has addressed how the interaction of demographic and biomedical parameters with psychosocial processes has an impact on appointment keeping. Typical factors are stress of daily living, methods of coping, social support, and instrumental support (that is, tangible assistance). In this study, the authors examine the role of these parameters and processes in the risk status for dropping out of a developmental followup program for very low birth weight infants. The findings suggest that the stress of daily living is a significant predictor for the mother's return when the infant is 6 months of age (corrected for prematurity). The predictors for return at 24 months corrected age include marital status, race, gestational age of the infant, maternal intelligence, and efficacy expectations. Providing transportation was found to be a successful intervention strategy for a subgroup at very high risk for dropping out due to a constellation of biomedical, demographic, and psychosocial factors.
Child Development , Infant, Low Birth Weight , Mothers/psychology , Patient Dropouts/psychology , Adaptation, Psychological , Female , Follow-Up Studies , Humans , Infant, Newborn , Intelligence , Male , Patient Dropouts/statistics & numerical data , Risk , Social Support , Socioeconomic Factors , Stress, Psychological , Transportation
This study replicated with nonreferred children the finding with psychiatrically referred children that mother-child concordance was a function of symptom type. Low mother-child concordance for internalizing problems and moderate concordance for externalizing problems characteristic of psychiatric samples was found to generalize to nonreferred children. Furthermore, mother-child concordance was also found to be a function of child gender and age. The implications of these findings for screening or assessment of nonreferred children were examined.
Child Behavior Disorders/diagnosis , Mothers/psychology , Psychiatric Status Rating Scales , Referral and Consultation , Adult , Age Factors , Anxiety Disorders/diagnosis , Anxiety Disorders/psychology , Attention Deficit Disorder with Hyperactivity/diagnosis , Attention Deficit Disorder with Hyperactivity/psychology , Child , Child Behavior Disorders/psychology , Child, Preschool , Female , Humans , Male , Object Attachment , Psychiatric Status Rating Scales/statistics & numerical data , Sex Factors
This study provides validity information about the Missouri Children's Behavior Checklist (MCBC) classifications system with nonreferred children. MCBC behavior patterns of 41 children were related to DSM-III symptomatology ascertained through a structured clinical interview, the Child Assessment Schedule, conducted with the mother. The findings indicated that considering the Undifferentiated Disturbance pattern as an indicator of poor adjustment may be unwarranted with nonreferred children.
Child Behavior Disorders/diagnosis , Personality Assessment/statistics & numerical data , Child , Child Behavior Disorders/classification , Child Behavior Disorders/psychology , Female , Humans , Internal-External Control , Male , Psychometrics , Reference Values , Reproducibility of Results , Social Adjustment
This study found intellectual and academic functioning of 76 children and adolescents with cystic fibrosis to be normally distributed. Intellectual functioning was related inversely to age, and both intellectual and academic functioning were related directly to socioeconomic status. Medical status did not add a significant increment in the amount of variance in intellectual and academic functioning accounted for by age and socioeconomic status.
Achievement , Activities of Daily Living/psychology , Cystic Fibrosis/psychology , Intelligence , Personality Development , Sick Role , Adaptation, Psychological , Adolescent , Child , Cystic Fibrosis/rehabilitation , Female , Humans , Learning Disabilities/psychology , Learning Disabilities/rehabilitation , Male , Risk Factors , Socioeconomic Factors , Wechsler Scales
