title: Testing multicultural robustness of the Child Behavior Checklist in a national epidemiological sample in Uruguay.
abstract: Comparisons of Child Behavior Checklist (CBCL) scores from 31 societies (Rescorla et al. Journal of Emotional and Behavioral Disorders 15:13-142 2007) supported the instrument's multicultural robustness, but none of these societies was in South America. The present study tested the multicultural robustness of the 2001 CBCL using data from a national epidemiological survey in Uruguay. Participants were 1,374 6- to 11-year-olds recruited through 65 schools nationwide; 1,098 (80%) had received no mental health or special education services in the past year (non-referred group), whereas 276 (referred group) had been referred for mental health services, had repeated ≥ 2 grades, or had significant developmental disabilities. Mean item ratings, factor structure, and scale internal consistencies were very similar to findings reported by Rescorla et al. (Journal of Emotional and Behavioral Disorders 15:13-142 2007) and Ivanova et al. (Journal of Clinical Child and Adoloescent Psychology 36: 405-417 2007). Children from low SES school environments obtained higher problem scores, especially in the referred group. Gender, age, and referral status effects paralleled those in the U.S. Non-referred children obtained somewhat higher mean problem scores in Uruguay than in the U.S., but mean score differences between non-referred and referred children were smaller in Uruguay than the U.S. Findings supporting the CBCL's multicultural robustness in a South American country extend the generalizability of findings reported by Rescorla et al. (Journal of Emotional and Behavioral Disorders 15:13-142 2007) for 31 societies.
authors.affiliation: Child Psychiatry Department, Children's Hospital Pereira Rossell, Montevideo, Uruguay.
authors.forename: Laura
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Viola
authors.forename: Gabriela
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Garrido
authors.forename: Leslie
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Rescorla
mesh_terms: D000342:Affective Symptoms / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000453:epidemiology*; D057189:Checklist; D002648:Child; D002652:Child Behavior; D002653:Child Behavior Disorders / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000453:epidemiology*; D003431:Cross-Cultural Comparison; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D014583:Uruguay / Q000453:epidemiology