title: The PSC-17: Subscale Scores, Reliability, and Factor Structure in a New National Sample.
abstract: The Pediatric Symptom Checklist-17 (PSC-17) is a widely used, briefer version of the PSC-35, a parent-completed measure of children's psychosocial functioning. Despite the extensive use of the PSC-17 over the past 15 years there has not been a large-scale replication of the original derivation study.
  
  
  
  To examine the prevalence of positive screens, reliability, and factor structure of PSC-17 scores in a new national sample and compare them with the derivation sample.
  
  
  
  Data were collected on 80 680 pediatric outpatients, ages 4 to 15 years, whose parents filled out the PSC-17 from 2006 to 2015 via the Child Health and Development Interactive System, an electronic system that presents and scores clinical measures.
  
  
  
  The rates of positive screening on the overall PSC-17 (11.6%) and on the internalizing (10.4%) and attention (9.1%) subscales were comparable to rates found in the original sample, although the rate of externalizing problems (10.2%) was lower than in the derivation study. Reliability was high (internal consistency 0.89; test-retest 0.85), and a confirmatory factor analysis provided support for the original 3-factor model.
  
  
  
  Fifteen years after the PSC-17 was derived in a large nationally representative outpatient pediatric sample, a new and larger national sample found rates of positive screening, reliability, and factor structure that were comparable. Findings from this study support the continued use of the PSC-17 clinically as a screening tool in pediatric settings and in research.
authors: Massachusetts General Hospital, Boston, Massachusetts; Harvard Medical School, Boston, Massachusetts mmurphy6@partners.org.
authors: J Michael
authors: JM
authors: Murphy
authors: PrairieCare Institute, Minneapolis, Minnesota; Foresight Logic, Inc, St Paul, Minnesota;
authors: Paul
authors: P
authors: Bergmann
authors: Massachusetts General Hospital, Boston, Massachusetts;
authors: Cindy
authors: C
authors: Chiang
authors: Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine and Center for Promotion of Child Development Through Primary Care, Baltimore, Maryland;
authors: Raymond
authors: R
authors: Sturner
authors: Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine and Total Child Health, Baltimore, Maryland; and.
authors: Barbara
authors: B
authors: Howard
authors: Massachusetts General Hospital, Boston, Massachusetts;
authors: Madelaine R
authors: MR
authors: Abel
authors: Harvard Medical School, Boston, Massachusetts.
authors: Michael
authors: M
authors: Jellinek
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D057189:Checklist; D002648:Child; D002675:Child, Preschool; D005163:Factor Analysis, Statistical; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D065886:Neurodevelopmental Disorders / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000453:epidemiology; D015995:Prevalence; D011569:Psychiatric Status Rating Scales; D015203:Reproducibility of Results; D014481:United States / Q000453:epidemiology