Parent-teacher agreement on children’s externalizing behaviors: Results from a community sample of Portuguese elementary-school children

Abstract

Behavior checklists using multiple informants are common and considered best practice in the assessment of childhood externalizing problems. Nevertheless, discrepancies between observers’ assessments are usual in studies that rely on behavior ratings. Therefore, this study sought to investigate the agreement between parent and teacher ratings of children behavioral problems. A sample of Portuguese elementary-school children (n = 146), aged between 6 and 9 years, was assessed between 2014 and 2017 using the Child Behavior Checklist and its counterpart, the Teacher Report Form, scales of: social problems, attention problems, rule breaking behavior and aggressive behavior. Agreement between parents and teachers was measured through three indices: mean scores, Pearson correlations and T-scores. It was found that parent and teacher reports on each scale were positively correlated and low to moderate cross-informant agreement was observed for the total sample. Lower levels of agreement were found when controlling for the child’s gender. Results also revealed the existence of significant differences between parent and teacher ratings on almost all scales, both for the total sample, and for each gender group, with parents rating their children’s behavioral problems with higher scores, compared to teachers. It was also found that parent-teacher agreement was higher for children scoring lower on behavioral problems. These results are discussed in the light of previous studies on cross-informant agreement. It is suggested that, despite discrepancies, both parents and teachers constitute mandatory sources for the assessment of children’s behavioral problems.