Normal variation and abnormality: an empirical study of the liability distributions underlying depression and delinquency.
BACKGROUND
Scale scores in studies of emotional and behavioural problems often possess highly skewed distributions. The long upper tails of these distributions place a small proportion of the population at some distance from the main body of the distribution. This invites an interpretation of their forming an abnormal group, one that may be qualitatively distinct.


METHODS
Item-response models were fitted to data on parent and self-rated depression and delinquency from four large samples of children or adolescents.


RESULTS
We found that underlying liability distributions show very little or no evidence of non-normality.


CONCLUSIONS
The results suggest that (i) the skewed nature of the scale scores may be largely measurement artefacts, (ii) the distributions provide no evidence of a qualitatively distinct process generating abnormality as compared to normal variation and (iii) for characterising the whole distribution, including normality and abnormality, the selection of items in typical current assessments of emotional and behavioural problems is not optimal.
van den Oord
Edwin J C G
EJ
Department of Psychiatry, Medical College of Virginia of Virginia Commonwealth University, Richmond 23298-0126, USA. ejvandenoord@vcu.edu
Pickles
Andrew
A
Waldman
Irwin D
ID
D000293:Adolescent; D000342:Affective Symptoms; D002648:Child; D002653:Child Behavior Disorders; D003863:Depression / Q000150:complications / Q000523:psychology*; D005260:Female; D006306:Health Surveys; D006801:Humans; D007604:Juvenile Delinquency / Q000523:psychology*; D008297:Male; D011594:Psychometrics; D012307:Risk Factors