title: Comparing the psychometric properties of multiple teacher report instruments as predictors of bipolar disorder in children and adolescents.
abstract: The psychometric properties of four teacher report measures and their utility for accurate diagnosis of pediatric bipolar spectrum disorders (BPSDs) were examined. Participants were 191 youth (65% male; 62% African-American; 23% diagnosed with a BPSD), age 5-18 (M=10.16, SD=3.27) years, 70% recruited from a community mental health center and 30% recruited from a mood disorders clinic. Teachers "who knew the child best" were asked to complete the Achenbach Teacher Report Form (TRF) as well as teacher versions of the General Behavior Inventory (T-GBI), the Child Mania Rating Scale (CMRS-T), and the Young Mania Rating Scale (T-YMRS). Teacher response rates and missing data varied significantly depending on the age of the child. Exploratory factor analysis identified stable and interpretable factors; however, receiver operating characteristic (ROC) and logistic regression analyses showed that teacher report measures were not able to discriminate BPSD cases from non-BPSD cases, or from attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) cases. Teacher report appears to be insufficiently specific or sensitive to BPSD for clinical diagnostic use, although teacher scales might have research utility.
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychology, University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, NC 27599-3270, USA. eay@unc.edu
authors.forename: Eric A
authors.initials: EA
authors.lastname: Youngstrom
authors.forename: Megan F
authors.initials: MF
authors.lastname: Joseph
authors.forename: Jamelle
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Greene
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D001289:Attention Deficit Disorder with Hyperactivity / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000523:psychology; D001714:Bipolar Disorder / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000523:psychology; D002648:Child; D002675:Child, Preschool; D015897:Comorbidity; D003527:Cyclothymic Disorder / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000523:psychology; D003937:Diagnosis, Differential; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007406:Interview, Psychological; D008297:Male; D015588:Observer Variation; D010552:Personality Assessment / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D011594:Psychometrics / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D015203:Reproducibility of Results