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Screening and Assessment Tools for Child Welfare

Assessment Rating:
A
A – Reliability and Validity Demonstrated
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Child Behavior Checklist for Ages 1.5-5 (CBCL/1.5-5)

Developer(s):

Thomas M. Achenbach, PhD and Leslie A. Rescorla, PhD

Description / Purpose:

The CBCL/1.5-5 includes 99 items that describe specific kinds of behavioral, emotional, and social problems that characterize preschool children. There are also open-ended items for describing additional problems. Items are scored on syndrome scales designated as Emotionally Reactive; Anxious/ Depressed; Somatic Complaints; Withdrawn; Attention Problems; Aggressive Behavior, and Sleep Problems. Items are also scored on DSM-oriented scales designated as Affective Problems, Anxiety Problems, Pervasive Developmental Problems, Attention Deficit/Hyperactivity Problems, and Oppositional Defiant Problems. Open-ended items request information about illnesses and disabilities, what concerns the respondent most about the child, and the best things about the child.

Target Population: Children ages 1.5-5 years

Intended Users: Clinicians, Special Educators

Time to Administer: 10-20 minutes

Completed By: Parents (The parallel Caregiver-Teacher Report Form is completed by caregivers and teachers)

Modalities Available: Pencil and paper, online

Scoring Information: Rate each item as 0 = not true (as far as you know), 1 = somewhat or sometimes true, or 2 = very true or often true of the child, based on the preceding two months. Scoring can be done by clerical workers or computers.

Languages Available: Afaan Oromo (Ethiopia), Afrikaans, Amharic (Ethiopia), Arabic, Bulgaria, Chinese, Croatian, Czech, Danish, Dutch, English, Estonian, Farsi (Iran), Finnish, French, French Canadian, German, Gujarati (India), Hebrew, Hindi, Hungarian, Icelandic, Italian, Japanese, Kannada (India), Khmer, Korean, Lithuanian, Malay, Malayalam (India), Marathi (India), Norwegian, Polish, Portuguese, Punjabi (India), Romanian, Russian, Serbian, Slovenian, Spanish, Swedish, Tagalog (Philippines), Tamil, Telugu (India), Thai, Turkish, Ukranian, Urdu (India & Pakistan), Vietnamese, Xhosa

Training Requirements for Intended Users: Master's degree and knowledge of the theory and methodology of standardized assessment, as well as supervised training in working with the relevant kinds of clients.

Availability: Order online at www.aseba.org

Contact Information

Company: Achenbach System of Empirically Based Assessment (ASEBA)
Website: www.aseba.org
Email:
Phone: (802) 656-5130
Fax: (802) 656-5131

Summary of Relevant Psychometric Research

This assessment has received the Assessment Rating of "A – Reliability and Validity Demonstrated" based on the published, peer-reviewed research available. The assessment must have 2 or more published, peer-reviewed studies that demonstrated that the measure is reliable and valid. Please see the Assessment Rating Scale for more information.

Show relevant research...

Extensive research on the psychometrics of the CBCL/1.5-5 has been conducted by the developers. For a detailed description, please refer to the CBCL/1.5-5 manual.  The chapter on reliability and validity can be viewed on the CBCL/1.5-5 website at http://www.aseba.org/ordering/reliabilityvalidity.html.

Achenbach, T. M., & Rescorla, L. A. (2001). Manual for the ASEBA preschool forms & profiles. Burlington, VT: University of Vermont, Research Center for Children, Youth, & Families. 

Tan, T. X., Dedrick, R. F., & Marfo, K. (2006). Factor structure and clinical implications of Child Behavior Checklist/1.5–5 ratings in a sample of girls adopted from China. Journal of Pediatric Psychology, 32(7), 807-818.

Sample:

Participants — 707 adopted Chinese girls ages 1.5-5.92 years

Race/Ethnicity — Asian

Summary:

Parental ratings were obtained and profiles of scores were analyzed descriptively for clinical insights. Analysis indicated that the fit of Achenbach and Rescorla's model to the data obtained from the adopted Chinese girls was acceptable using either a 2-point response scale or the original 3-point response scale for the 67 items from which seven syndromes or correlated factors are derived. Additional evidence of the factorial validity of the CBCL/1.5–5 is provided and the study findings support its use with Chinese girls adopted into North American families. While the Chinese girls showed similar or better behavioral adjustment, compared to a reference group from the CBCL/1.5-5’s normative sample, they tended to manifest higher levels of sleep problems.

Pandolfi, V., Magyar, C. I., & Dill, C. A. (2009). Confirmatory factor analysis of the Child Behavior Checklist 1.5-5 in a sample of children with autism spectrum disorders. Journal of Autism Developmental Disorders, 39, 986-995.

Sample:

Participants — 128 children with an Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD)

Race/Ethnicity — 89% Caucasian, 5% Black/African American, 5% Multiracial, 3% Hispanic/Latino, 1% Asian, and 2% not reported [Total exceeds 100% due to participants ability to choose multiple races]

Summary:

Analysis of archival data evaluated the adequacy of the CBCL/1.5-5 factor model in a well characterized sample of preschoolers with an ASD (N = 128). Psychometric results supported the model and suggested that practitioners can use the CBCL/1.5-5 to assess for emotional and behavioral disorders (EBD) in young children with ASD in conjunction with other clinical data. This will increase the likelihood of accurate identification and EBD-specific intervention.

Ivanova, M. Y., Achenbach, T. M., Rescorla, L. A., Harder, V. S., Ang, R. P., Bilenberg, N., … Verhulst, F. C. (2010). Preschool psychopathology reported by parents in 23 societies: Testing the seven syndrome model of the Child Behavior Checklist for ages 1.5-5. Journal of the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, 49(12), 1215-1224.

Sample:

Participants — 19,106 Children, 18-71 months of age

Race/Ethnicity — 23 societies in Asia, Australasia, Europe, the Middle East, and South America

Summary:

Tested the fit of the seven CBCL/1.5-5 syndromes to ratings of preschoolers' problems by parents.  The primary fit index indicated acceptable to good fit for each society. Results indicated that clinicians working with preschoolers from diverse societies can accurately assess and describe parents' ratings of behavioral, emotional, and social problems in terms of the seven syndromes.  The results illustrate possibilities for culture-general taxonomic constructs of preschool psychopathology.

Date Reviewed: August 2011