Perspectives on child behavior problems: Comparisons of children's self-reports with parent and teacher reports.

Abstract

Associations among parents', teachers', and children's self-reports of internalizing and externalizing child behavior problems were examined in two studies. In the first, both teachers' and parents' reports were modestly and independently associated with children's self-reported behavior problems. In the second, mothers' and fathers' reports of their children's behavior problems were moderately associated with parents' self-reports of their own psychological symptoms as well as with their children's self-reports of their behavior problems. Implications of these studies for the use of multiple perspectives in the assessment of children's behavior problems are discussed. An emerging trend in the development and use of behavior checklists is the advent of versions of these measures to obtain children's self-reports of their own problems (e.g., Achenbach & Edelbrock, 1987; Finch & Rogers, 1984). An essential step in the further development of measures of children's self-reports involves examining their association with the reports of other informants, especially parents and teachers. Two issues warrant further attention in this regard: (a) To what extent do children's self-reports agree with the reports of other informants observing their behavior in different situations? and (b) What factors affect the association between the child's report and other informants' reports in the same situation?