title: Screening for psychopathology in a national cohort of 8- to 15-year-old children with cerebral palsy.
abstract: Cerebral palsy (CP) is often accompanied by psychopathology and learning disability.
  
  
  OBJECTIVE
  (1) to evaluate the prevalence of psychopathology as estimated by the Child Behavior Checklist (CBCL) parental questionnaire in 8- to 15-year-old Danish children with CP and to analyze its association with cognitive ability and families' social characteristics; (2) to examine to what extent children with CP had been evaluated by a child psychiatrist and/or psychologist.
  
  
  METHODS
  The parents of 462 children with CP answered a questionnaire about their child's treatment and the family's characteristics and 446 the CBCL. The cutoff for psychopathology was the Total CBCL score or DSM-oriented scores above the 93rd percentile in an age- and gender-stratified population.
  
  
  RESULTS
  The psychopathology screening was positive in 46.2% (CI 41.6-50.8%) against 15.1% in general population. Cognitive disability was associated with an increased prevalence of psychopathology (odds ratio (OR) 2.6, CI 1.4-4.6, for Developmental Quotient of cognitive function (DQ) 50-85 and OR 3.0, CI 1.3-7.0, for DQ<50). Children with CP and a single parent showed increased odds for a positive CBCL screening compared to children living with two parents (OR 2.1, 95% CI 1.1-4.0). Children with DQ 50-85 more often had a psychological evaluation. A positive CBCL screening was strongly associated with a psychiatric assessment (21% vs. 7%, p<0.01).
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  The high prevalence of emotional and behavioral problems indicates that screening for psychopathology should be a part of multidisciplinary follow-up of CP. The CBCL can be used as a screening instrument in children with CP without severe motor and cognitive disability.
authors.affiliation: Department of Pediatrics, Aarhus University Hospital, Palle Juul-Jensens Boulevard 99, 8200 Aarhus N, Denmark. Electronic address: gijarack@rm.dk.
authors.forename: Gija
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Rackauskaite
authors.affiliation: Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, University of Southern Denmark, Campusvej 55, 5230 Odense M, Denmark. Electronic address: niels.bilenberg@rsyd.dk.
authors.forename: Niels
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Bilenberg
authors.affiliation: Department of Public Health, Aarhus University, Bartholins Allé 2, 8000 Aarhus C, Denmark. Electronic address: bhb@ph.au.dk.
authors.forename: Bodil Hammer
authors.initials: BH
authors.lastname: Bech
authors.affiliation: the Cerebral Palsy Registry, National Institute of Public Health, University of Southern Denmark, Øster Farimagsgade 5 A, 1353 Copenhagen K, Denmark; Department of Pediatrics and Adolescent Medicine at The Juliane Marie Centre, Rigshospitalet, Copenhagen University Hospital and at The University of Copenhagen, Blegdamsvej 9, 2100 Copenhagen Ø, Denmark. Electronic address: pu@rh.dk.
authors.forename: Peter
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Uldall
authors.affiliation: Department of Pediatrics, Aarhus University Hospital, Palle Juul-Jensens Boulevard 99, 8200 Aarhus N, Denmark.
authors.forename: John Rosendahl
authors.initials: JR
authors.lastname: Østergaard
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D002547:Cerebral Palsy / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000523:psychology; D057189:Checklist; D002648:Child; D003072:Cognition Disorders / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000523:psychology; D015331:Cohort Studies; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D003718:Denmark / Q000453:epidemiology; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008403:Mass Screening; D001523:Mental Disorders / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000523:psychology; D016017:Odds Ratio; D010290:Parents; D015995:Prevalence; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires
keywords: Cerebral palsy; Child behavior checklist; Mental health care; Screening for psychopathology