Can teachers' behavior ratings be used to screen early adolescent boys for psychiatric diagnoses?
The present study examined if a short, 22-item teacher rating questionnaire could be used to screen young adolescent boys for psychiatric diagnoses. Subjects were 239 12-year-old boys from a community sample of low socioeconomic status families. Child and parent versions of the Diagnostic Interview Schedule for Children were used to provide DSM-III-R diagnoses. Results show a low to moderate screening value for the Short Social Behavior Questionnaire (S-SBQ) scales, with best results for externalizing disorders. The method used to establish the diagnoses had an impact on the screening efficacy of the S-SBQ, higher prevalence rates resulting in a lower proportion of false-positives for the same cutoff point. Additional research is needed to assess the screening efficacy of the S-SBQ across ages and gender, but results suggest that teacher ratings with the S-SBQ could be used to screen boys with externalizing disorders at the end of elementary school.
Carbonneau
René
R
Research Unit on Children's Psychosocial Maladjustment, University of Montreal, Montreal, Canada. rene.carbonneau@umontreal.ca
Tremblay
Richard E
RE
Vitaro
Frank
F
Saucier
Jean-François
JF
D002648:Child; D002652:Child Behavior; D039721:Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders; D005178:Faculty; D005189:False Positive Reactions; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008403:Mass Screening; D001523:Mental Disorders / Q000175:diagnosis*; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires