The Application of the Adult Self-Report and the Adult Behavior Checklist Form to Chinese Adults: Syndrome Structure, Inter-Informant Agreement, and Cultural Comparison.

Masha Ivanova,Fanghong Dong,Jianghong Liu,Christopher M Lee,Jenny Reyes

doi:10.3390/ijerph18126352

Abstract

Given the global public health burden of mental illness, there is a critical need for culturally validated psychopathology assessment tools that perform well in diverse societies. This study examines the psychometric properties of the Adult Self-Report (ASR) and Adult Behavioral Checklist (ABCL) from the Achenbach System of Empirically Based Assessments in adults in China. Chinese adults (N = 1276) and their spouses completed the ASR and ABCL, respectively. We conducted confirmatory factor analysis on 99 ASR items and 93 ABCL items. Estimators of model fit confirmed that both measures demonstrated excellent fit (e.g., root mean square error of approximation = 0.016 and 0.018, respectively). Syndrome loadings on both measures were satisfactory but generally higher on the ASR. Neither gender nor education had significant effects, but there were informant x gender effects on most problem scales. Cross-informant agreement correlations between the ASR and ABCL were medium to large. Findings from this novel sample of Chinese adults are consistent with previous validation studies supporting the dimensionality, syndrome structure, gender differences, and inter-informant agreement of the ASR and ABCL. Our findings contribute to the cross-cultural understanding of mental health assessment and offer a psychometrically sound approach to measuring adult psychopathology in Chinese populations.

Highlights

The comprehensive measurement of adult psychopathology is an inherently important aspect of preventing or mitigating negative long-term individual and societal outcomes associated with the trajectory of mental illness
The mean ages for both the Adult Self-Report (ASR) and the Adult Behavior Checklist (ABCL) samples were very similar (ASR: M = 38.02, SD = 0.093; ABCL: M = 38.12, SD = 0.099), which is to be expected as they refer to the same individuals (i.e., ABCL responses refer to ASR targets)
The fact that ABCL percentages were so similar to ASR percentages indicates that the 911 ASR targets for whom ABCLs were obtained were very representative of the full ASR sample of 1016

Summary

Introduction

The comprehensive measurement of adult psychopathology is an inherently important aspect of preventing or mitigating negative long-term individual and societal outcomes associated with the trajectory of mental illness. It is critical to have available validated instruments that can inform the prediction, identification, and management of psychopathology in adulthood. One such instrument is the Achenbach System of Empirically Based Assessment (ASEBA), one of the most widely used and rigorously validated measures to assess behavioral, emotional, and social problems and adaptive functioning in individuals of all ages [4,5,6,7]. Ratings of problem items are summed to yield scores on eight statistically derived narrow-band syndrome scales (e.g., Anxious/Depressed), three broad-band scales (Internalizing, Externalizing, and Total Problems), six DSM-oriented scales, as well as a

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Results

Discussion

Conclusion