Daily Ratings on a Child Psychiatric Unit: Psychometric Evaluation of the Child Behavior Rating Form

Abstract

The present study examines the properties of an assessment instrument, the Child Behavior Rating Form (CBRF), for rating individual behavioral and emotional symptoms exhibited by children residing in inpatient settings. Modeled after the Child Behavior Checklist, the CBRF consists of 55 behavior problem items and 10 social competence items. Two hundred child inpatients were rated for 1 week by a staff nurse. Principal components factor analyses conducted separately with the means of each behavior problem and social competence item resulted in a five- and two-factor solution, respectively. Item-Factor correlations and alphas were in the moderate-to-high range. Interrater agreement between two research assistants was generally high. The validity of the CBRF using the parent-rated Child Behavior Checklist and DSM-III diagnoses was found to be acceptable. The implications of these findings for standardized assessment of child psychopathology in inpatient settings and the use of repeated measures in treatment outcome evaluation are discussed.