title: Validation of the Behavioral Health Checklist in Diverse Pediatric Primary Care Settings.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  Examine the validity and clinical utility of the Behavioral Health Checklist (BHCL), a screening tool with 2 forms (4-7, 8-12 years) developed for use with children of diverse backgrounds.
  
  
  METHODS
  At pediatric primary care appointments, the parents of 1274 children completed a demographic form, the BHCL, and the Child Behavior Checklist (CBCL). Concurrent validity was examined by conducting correlations between the BHCL and the diagnostic scales of the CBCL. Diagnostic prediction was examined by conducting logistic regression analyses and plotting receiver operating characteristics (ROC) curves. Clinical utility was investigated by examining sensitivity, specificity, and kappa corrections for total predictive power.
  
  
  RESULTS
  The pattern of correlations with the CBCL provided evidence of convergent and discriminant validity for both versions of the BHCL. ROC curve plots provided clear evidence of predictive validity (area under curve values ranged from .84 to .96 across factors and both age-determined versions). Cut-points achieving sensitivity and specificity values of at least .70 were identified for each BHCL factor for each version.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  The BHCL was demonstrated to have strong construct and predictive validity. The predictive validity of each version was demonstrated across genders, socioeconomic status, and racial groups (black or African American and white). The BHCL has promise as a developmentally and culturally effective behavioral health screener for use in pediatric primary care practices.
authors.affiliation: *Department of Pediatrics, The Children's Learning Institute, University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston, Houston, TX; †Department of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, The Children's Hospital of Philadelphia, Perelman School of Medicine, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA; ‡Department of Psychological Studies in Education, College of Education, Temple University, Philadelphia, PA; §Division of Developmental and Behavioral Pediatrics, Department of Pediatrics, The Children's Hospital of Philadelphia, Perelman School of Medicine, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA; ‖Division of Developmental and Behavioral Pediatrics, Department of Pediatrics, and Department of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, The Children's Hospital of Philadelphia, Perelman School of Medicine, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA.
authors.forename: Anson J
authors.initials: AJ
authors.lastname: Koshy
authors.forename: Jennifer A
authors.initials: JA
authors.lastname: Mautone
authors.forename: Laura L
authors.initials: LL
authors.lastname: Pendergast
authors.forename: Nathan J
authors.initials: NJ
authors.lastname: Blum
authors.forename: Thomas J
authors.initials: TJ
authors.lastname: Power
mesh_terms: D000367:Age Factors; D057189:Checklist; D002648:Child; D002652:Child Behavior / Q000523:psychology; D002653:Child Behavior Disorders / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000523:psychology; D002675:Child, Preschool; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D010372:Pediatrics / Q000379:methods*; D011320:Primary Health Care / Q000379:methods*; D015203:Reproducibility of Results; D012680:Sensitivity and Specificity