[A brief questionnaire for the diagnosis of maladaptive behavior disorders in adolescents aged between 12 and 16 years of age].
OBJECTIVE
To standardize and to determine the structural validity of a conduct disorder self report questionnaire in adolescents.


METHODS
One hundred ninety, 12 to 16 year old male participants from the different socioeconomic status were randomized selected from educational institutions of Medellin City, Colombia. A quantitative self report questionnaire, with a discrete (0-3) item scored scale, based upon the DSM-IV criteria A symptoms for conduct disorder was applied to the sample. Reliability analysis using alpha item/scale Cronbach's coefficient was calculated, and a factor analysis with a maximum likelihood method of extraction and VARIMAX rotation was developed.


RESULTS
The standard obtained scores defined the presence and distribution of the symptoms of conduct disorder in an adolescent normal population. Reliability alpha Cronbach's coefficient for 14 items was 0.86. Three stable factors, which explained 53.9% of the variance, were found. First factor was serious violation of rules and explained 32.9% of variance, second factor was violence, which explained 10.9%, and the third factor was cruelty which explained 10.1% of the structure (Goodness-of-fit chi 2 = 34.6; df 25; p = 0.09). Conduct disorder questionnaire had a strong internal consistency and multidimensional structure, which would allow that it could be used in clinical and epidemiological researches with adolescent population.
Línea de Investigación en Neuropsicología y Conducta, Facultad de Psicología, Universidad de San Buenaventura, Medellín, Colombia. dpineda@epm.net.co
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D000293:Adolescent; D000294:Adolescent Behavior / Q000523:psychology; D002648:Child; D019955:Conduct Disorder / Q000175:diagnosis*; D005163:Factor Analysis, Statistical; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D011569:Psychiatric Status Rating Scales; D015203:Reproducibility of Results; D012720:Severity of Illness Index; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires