title: Clinical validity of a brief measure of early childhood social-emotional/behavioral problems.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To address a pressing need for measures of clinically significant social-emotional/behavioral problems in young children by examining several validity indicators for a brief parent-report questionnaire.
  
  
  METHODS
  An ethnically and economically diverse sample of 213 referred and nonreferred 2- and 3-year-olds was studied. The validity of the Brief Infant-Toddler Social-Emotional Assessment (BITSEA) Problem Index and Internalizing and Externalizing scales was evaluated relative to a "gold standard" diagnostic interview, as well as the Child Behavior Checklist (CBCL).
  
  
  RESULTS
  The validity of the BITSEA Problem Index relative to Diagnosis (sensitivity = 72.7%-80.8%, specificity = 70.0%-83.3%) and clinical-range CBCL scores (sensitivity = 80.0%-96.2%, specificity = 75.0%-89.9%) was supported in the full sample and within minority/nonminority groups. Additional results supported the validity of the BITSEA Internalizing and Externalizing scales.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Documented validity suggests that the BITSEA may be a valuable tool to aid screening, identification, and assessment efforts targeting early-emergent social-emotional/behavioral problems. Practical implications and generalizability are discussed.
authors.affiliation: University of Connecticut Health Center, Farmington, CT 06030, USA. mbriggsgowan@uchc.edu
authors.forename: Margaret J
authors.initials: MJ
authors.lastname: Briggs-Gowan
authors.forename: Alice S
authors.initials: AS
authors.lastname: Carter
authors.forename: Kimberly
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: McCarthy
authors.forename: Marilyn
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Augustyn
authors.forename: Elizabeth
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Caronna
authors.forename: Roseanne
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Clark
mesh_terms: D000342:Affective Symptoms / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000523:psychology; D002653:Child Behavior Disorders / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000523:psychology; D002675:Child, Preschool; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007389:Internal-External Control; D007406:Interview, Psychological / Q000379:methods; D008297:Male; D010290:Parents / Q000523:psychology; D011569:Psychiatric Status Rating Scales / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D015203:Reproducibility of Results; D012680:Sensitivity and Specificity; D012919:Social Behavior; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires / Q000592:standards*
keywords: assessment; early childhood; psychiatric diagnosis; screening; social–emotional/behavioral problems; surveillance