title: The Child Behavior Checklist Dysregulation Profile in Preschool Children: A Broad Dysregulation Syndrome.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  Children with concurrent impairments in regulating affect, behavior, and cognition can be identified with the Anxious/Depressed, Aggressive Behavior, and Attention Problems scales (or AAA scales) of the Child Behavior Checklist (CBCL). Jointly, these scales form the Dysregulation Profile (DP). Despite persuasive evidence that DP is a marker for severe developmental problems, no consensus exists on the preferred conceptualization and operationalization of DP in preschool years. We addressed this concern by testing and validating the factor structure of DP in a group of predominantly clinically referred preschool children.
  
  
  METHODS
  Participants were 247 children (195 boys and 52 girls), aged 3.5 to 5.5 years. Children were assessed at baseline and 18 months later, using parent and teacher reports, a clinical interview with parents, behavioral observations, and neuropsychological tasks.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Confirmatory factor analysis showed that a bifactor model, with a general DP factor and 3 specific factors representing the AAA scales, fitted the data better than a second-order model and a one-factor model for both parent-reported and teacher-reported child problem behavior. Criterion validity analyses showed that the DP factor was concurrently and longitudinally associated with markers of dysregulation and clinically relevant criteria, whereas the specific factors representing the AAA scales were more differentially related to those criteria.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  DP is best conceptualized as a broad syndrome of dysregulation that exists in addition to the specific syndromes as represented by the AAA scales. Implications for researchers and clinicians are discussed.
authors.affiliation: Utrecht University, the Netherlands. Electronic address: s.b.geeraerts@uu.nl.
authors.forename: Sanne Barbara
authors.initials: SB
authors.lastname: Geeraerts
authors.affiliation: Utrecht University, the Netherlands.
authors.forename: Marike Hester Francisca
authors.initials: MH
authors.lastname: Deutz
authors.affiliation: Utrecht University, the Netherlands.
authors.forename: Maja
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Deković
authors.affiliation: Brain Center Rudolf Magnus, University Medical Center Utrecht.
authors.forename: Tessa
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Bunte
authors.affiliation: VU University, Amsterdam.
authors.forename: Kim
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Schoemaker
authors.affiliation: University of Nebraska-Lincoln and University of Arizona, Tucson, Arizona.
authors.forename: Kimberly Andrews
authors.initials: KA
authors.lastname: Espy
authors.affiliation: Erasmus University, Rotterdam, the Netherlands.
authors.forename: Peter
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Prinzie
authors.affiliation: Utrecht University, the Netherlands.
authors.forename: Anneloes
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: van Baar
authors.affiliation: Utrecht University, the Netherlands; Brain Center Rudolf Magnus, University Medical Center Utrecht.
authors.forename: Walter
authors.initials: W
authors.lastname: Matthys
mesh_terms: D000374:Aggression / Q000523:psychology*; D001007:Anxiety / Q000523:psychology*; D019958:Attention Deficit and Disruptive Behavior Disorders / Q000175:diagnosis*; D057189:Checklist; D002653:Child Behavior Disorders / Q000175:diagnosis*; D002675:Child, Preschool; D005163:Factor Analysis, Statistical; D005178:Faculty; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D009426:Netherlands; D010290:Parents / Q000523:psychology; D011569:Psychiatric Status Rating Scales; D012044:Regression Analysis
keywords: Child Behavior Checklist; clinical sample; dysregulation profile; factor analyses; preschool