Child Behavior Checklist-Teacher Report Form Research Articles

Behavioral Problems in Children with Hearing Loss: A Comparative Analysis with Children with Typical Development and Autism Spectrum Disorder

Research findings on the prevalence and characteristics of behavioral problems of children with hearing loss (HL) are not consistent. The aim of this study was to compare the behavioral problems of children with HL, with typical development (TD) and with autism spectrum disorder (ASD); and to determine the factors affecting behavioral problems in the HL group. Data were collected by using two scales based on the reports of 273 teachers of children with TD, HL and ASD: Child Behavior Checklist-Teacher Report Form (CBCL-TRF) and Social Skills Rating System-Problem Behaviors (SSRS-PB). ANOVA results showed that there was no difference between children with HL and TD, children with ASD had more behavioral problems than the two groups. In the HL group, children using hearing aids exhibited more behavioral problems than children with cochlear implants. Children who had additional problems displayed more behavioral problems than those who had not. Age at onset of hearing aid use and age at implantation were found to be significant predictors of behavioral problems. The findings point to the role of early intervention in preventing behavioral problems in children with HL.

Emotion Knowledge and Attentional Differences in Preschoolers Showing Context-Inappropriate Anger.

Some children show anger inappropriate for the situation based on the predominant incentives, which is called context-inappropriate anger. Children need to attend to and interpret situational incentives for appropriate emotional responses. We examined associations of context-inappropriate anger with emotion recognition and attention problems in 43 preschoolers (42% male; M age = 55.1 months, SD = 4.1). Parents rated context-inappropriate anger across situations. Teachers rated attention problems using the Child Behavior Checklist-Teacher Report Form. Emotion recognition was ability to recognize emotional faces using the Emotion Matching Test. Anger perception bias was indicated by anger to non-anger situations using an adapted Affect Knowledge Test. 28% of children showed context-inappropriate anger, which correlated with lower emotion recognition (β = -.28) and higher attention problems (β = .36). Higher attention problems correlated with more anger perception bias (β = .32). This cross-sectional, correlational study provides preliminary findings that children with context-inappropriate anger showed more attention problems, which suggests that both "problems" tend to covary and associate with deficits or biases in emotion knowledge.

Smoking during pregnancy and ADHD risk: A genetically informed, multiple-rater approach.

Maternal smoking during pregnancy (SDP) is a significant public health concern with adverse consequences to the health and well-being of the developing child, including behavioral outcomes such as Attention-Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD). There is substantial interest in understanding the nature of this reported association, particularly in light of more recent genetically informed studies that suggest that the SDP-ADHD link is less clear than once thought. In a sample of families (N = 173) specifically selected for sibling pairs discordant for prenatal smoking exposure, we use a sibling-comparison approach that controls for shared genetic and familial influences to assess the effects of SDP on ADHD symptom dimensions. ADHD was measured by both parent and teacher report on the Conners report forms and the Child Behavior Checklist/Teacher Report Form (CBCL/TRF). Results for the CBCL/TRF Total ADHD score are consistent with prior genetically informed approaches and suggest that previously reported associations between SDP and ADHD are largely due to familial confounding rather than causal teratogenic effects. However, results from the Conners parent report suggest a potentially causal effect of SDP on hyperactive/impulsive and, to a lesser extent, total ADHD symptoms; SDP results in increased parent-reported hyperactive/impulsive and total ADHD symptoms even after accounting for genetic and familial confounding factors. This suggests that the Conners assessment (parent-report) may provide a sensitive measure for use in studies examining child specific SDP effects on continuous and dimensional aspects of ADHD. © 2016 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

Manganese Exposure from Drinking Water and Children’s Classroom Behavior in Bangladesh

Background: Evidence of neurological, cognitive, and neuropsychological effects of manganese (Mn) exposure from drinking water (WMn) in children has generated widespread public health concern. At elevated exposures, Mn has been associated with increased levels of externalizing behaviors, including irritability, aggression, and impulsivity. Little is known about potential effects at lower exposures, especially in children. Moreover, little is known regarding potential interactions between exposure to Mn and other metals, especially arsenic (As).Objectives: We conducted a cross-sectional study of 201 children to investigate associations of Mn and As in tube well water with classroom behavior among elementary school children, 8–11 years of age, in Araihazar, Bangladesh.Methods: Data on exposures and behavioral outcomes were collected from the participants at the baseline of an ongoing longitudinal study of child intelligence. Study children were rated by their school teachers on externalizing and internalizing items of classroom behavior using the standardized Child Behavior Checklist-Teacher’s Report Form (CBCL-TRF).Results: Log-transformed WMn was positively and significantly associated with TRF internalizing [estimated β = 0.82; 95% confidence interval (CI), 0.08–1.56; p = 0.03], TRF externalizing (estimated β = 2.59; 95% CI, 0.81–4.37; p =0.004), and TRF total scores (estimated β = 3.35; 95% CI, 0.86–5.83; p = 0.008) in models that adjusted for log-transformed water arsenic (WAs) and sociodemographic covariates. We also observed a positive monotonic dose–response relationship between WMn and TRF externalizing and TRF total scores among the participants of the study. We did not find any significant associations between WAs and various scales of TRF scores.Conclusion: These observations reinforce the growing concern regarding the neurotoxicologic effects of WMn in children.

Results of the Aprender a Convivir Program for development of social competence and prevention of antisocial behavior in four-year-old children

The present study is the result of implementing an antisocial behavior prevention program in preschool education. The intervention goal was to prevent the emergence of antisocial behaviors through developing social competence in the participants. The program, called Aprender a Convivir, is divided into four modules by topic: rules and rule-following, emotions and feelings, communication skills, and helping and cooperation skills. The intervention was carried out during the academic year 2007—2008. The sample was composed of four-year-old pupils (n = 147) divided between a control group (n = 69) and an experimental group (n = 78). Results were obtained by administering the Child Behavior Checklist—Teacher Report Form (CBCL-TRF) and the Preschool and Kindergarten Behavior Scales (PKBS) for teachers and parents. Results show a noteworthy reduction in antisocial behaviors and a substantial improvement in social competence among experimental group members.

The role of trauma symptoms in the development of behavioral problems in maltreated preschoolers

Objective This study assessed the mediating role of trauma symptoms in the relation between child maltreatment and behavioral problems. It is based on the postulate that child maltreatment is a severe form of chronic relational trauma that has damaging consequences on the development of children's behavioral regulation. Method Participants were 34 maltreated and 64 non-maltreated children (mean age = 60 months; range: 46 to 72 months), all from economically disadvantaged families. Maltreated children were recruited from the Child Protection Agencies. Behavioral problems and trauma symptoms were evaluated by the preschool teacher with the Internalizing and the Externalizing scales of the Child Behavior Checklist—Teacher Report Form (CBCL-TRF) and the posttraumatic stress score of the Trauma Symptoms Checklist for Young Children respectively (TSCYC). Results Baron and Kenny's mediational procedure was conducted using structural equation modeling. Mediational analyses revealed that trauma symptoms fully mediated the association between maltreatment and both internalizing and externalizing behaviors. Conclusions Results were consistent with the literature on developmental trauma research and provide empirical support to the idea that trauma-related symptoms resulting from early maltreatment may constitute a mechanism in the development of psychosocial problems in preschoolers. Practice implications These findings underline the importance of understanding psychosocial maladjustment of maltreated children not only from the perspective of problematic behavior, but also by taking into account the traumatic reactions that might develop in response to chronic and intense stress associated with abuse and neglect.

Concurrent Validity of the Strength-Based Behavioral Objective Sequence

An essential task of diagnosticians is the accurate assessment of behavioral skills. Traditionally, deficit-based behavioral assessments have underscored student social skill deficits. Strength-based assessments delineate student competencies and are useful for individualized education program (IEP) and behavioral intervention plan (BIP) formulation, but few of them have been explicated. Assessment that incorporates both deficit-based and strength-based information provides a comprehensive view of student abilities and disabilities. This study examined the concurrent validity of a strength-based instrument, the Behavioral Objective Sequence(BOS), by comparing it to a widely-used deficit-based measure, the Child Behavior Checklist-Teacher Report Form(CBCL-TRF); we also examined differences in rating scores across placements for students with emotional and behavioral problems. Reasonable evidence of concurrent validity was obtained and placement scores differed on the BOS but not the CBCL-TRF. Implications of this research suggest that developmental and competency-based behavioral rating scale assessments, like the BOS, offer value over more commonly-used deficit-based measures in determining present levels of functioning and in establishing individual goals and objectives.

Parent–child parallel‐group intervention for childhood aggression in Hong Kong

This article reports the original evidence‐based outcome study on parent–child parallel group‐designed Anger Coping Training (ACT) program for children aged 8–10 with reactive aggression and their parents in Hong Kong. This research program involved experimental and control groups with pre‐ and post‐comparison. Quantitative data collection consisted of the Child Behavior Checklist (CBCL), Child Behavior Checklist Teacher's Report Form (CBCL‐TRF), and Peer Observation Checklist (POC). Two pilot studies and the main study were conducted. Out of 34 applicants, 18 were selected and divided between two experimental groups and one control group in accordance with the rule of randomization. The effectiveness of the program has been consistently verified in lessening overall childhood aggression, especially for children's physical aggression, but not verbal aggression.

Exposure to Violence

Inner-city children are frequently exposed to violence; however, there are few data regarding the psychological and academic correlates of such exposure in young children at school entry. To document exposure to violence in inner-city children aged 7 years; assess their feelings of distress; and evaluate the relationships of exposure to violence with school performance, behavior, and self-esteem. A study center in an inner-city hospital. One hundred nineteen inner-city children evaluated at age 7 years; 119 caregivers (biological and foster). As part of a longitudinal study, children were administered the following by a masked examiner: Things I Have Seen and Heard (TISH) to assess exposure to violence; Levonn, a cartoon-based interview for assessing children's distress symptoms; and the Culture-Free Self-Esteem Inventory, Second Edition. School performance was assessed by school reports and child behavior by the Child Behavior Checklist (CBCL), the Parent Report Form, and the Teacher Report Form. Caregivers for children were administered the parent report version of the Checklist of Children's Distress Symptoms (CCDS-PRV) as well as the CBCL Parent Report Form. Exposure to violence (TISH); feelings of distress (Levonn); school performance; behavior (CBCL Parent Report Form and CBCL Teacher Report Form); and self-esteem (Culture-Free Self-Esteem Inventory). We found that these children were frequently exposed to violence. For example, 75% had heard gun shots, 60% had seen drug deals, 18% had seen a dead body outside, and 10% had seen a shooting or stabbing in the home (TISH). Many showed signs of depression and anxiety; eg, 61% worried some or a lot of the time that they might get killed or die and 19% sometimes wished they were dead (Levonn). Higher exposure to violence (TISH Total Violence score) was correlated with higher Levonn composite scores for depression and anxiety and with lower self-esteem (P< or =.04), and was also associated with lower grade point average and more days of school absence (P< or =.02). Caregiver assessment of child anxiety correlated poorly with child report of anxiety (P =.58). Young inner-city children have a high exposure to violence by age 7 years; many show signs of distress that frequently are not recognized by caregivers. Further, higher exposure to violence in children correlates with poorer performance in school, symptoms of anxiety and depression, and lower self-esteem.

Genetic and environmental influences on teacher ratings of the Child Behavior Checklist

The knowledge we have of childhood and adolescent behaviour is, to some extent, a function of the unique perspective of the rater. Although many behavioural genetics studies have used parent and child self-reports in their assessments of child and adolescent adjustment, few have included teacher ratings of behaviour. It is possible that genetic and environmental contributions to teacher reports are different from those using parent and self-reports. The present study examined genetic and environmental influences on six subscales of the Child Behavior Checklist Teacher Report Form (CBC-TRF) using a normative sample of adolescents. The sample consisted of 373 same-sex twin and sibling pairs of varying degrees of genetic relatedness participating in the Nonshared Environment in Adolescent project (NEAD). For all of the CBC subscales, except attention problems and social problems, nonshared environmental influence was the most important source of variance. Additive genetic factors were of moderate importance for externalising behaviours, whereas nonadditive genetic factors contributed to the anxious/depressed, attention problems, withdrawn, and social problems subscales. For none of the constructs was shared environment a significant influence. Three alternative models testing for contrast effects, differences in twin and nontwin siblings, and differences in nondivorced and stepfamilies were examined. In most cases, the best-fitting model was a model that did not include any of these effects, suggesting that these factors do not critically affect the basic model. However, some of the patterns of correlations and parameter estimates were unusual and may warrant future investigation.

Self-report, peer-report, and teacher-report measures of childhood depression: an analysis by item.

We explored the low correlation among different types of childhood depression measures at the item level. The items from the Children's Depression Inventory (CDI), Peer Nomination Inventory of Depression (PNID), and the Child Behavior Checklist-Teacher Report Form (CBCL-T) were combined, and both first- and second-order factor analyses were conducted. Results indicate that self-report, peer-report, and teacher-report assessments of depression measure generally uncorrelated constructs. Second-order analysis suggests that depression as a global construct is being measured to some degree by items from all three instruments. Canonical analysis was employed to identify items that best predicted CDI, PNID, and CBL-T summary scores simultaneously. Also, the relationship between specific items with similar content was investigated. Results from these analyses generally supported a conclusion that the three types of measures yield scores that are primarily independent and that the use of summary scores is not masking stronger relationships within measures. These findings have implications for clinical practice and construct elaboration.

A Preliminary Assessment of Behavioral Problems in Children with Mastocytosis

The objectives of this study were to 1) review mastocytosis in terms of the behavioral pathology in adults, and 2) to assess a group of pediatric patients with mastocytosis to determine if similar behavioral pathology is evident. Twelve children ages two to eleven referred to the NIH, a tertiary referral center for mastocytosis, were studied. Questionnaires were mailed for assessment of the child's behavior: parents completed the Childhood Behavior Checklist (CBCL) and children four years of age or more were evaluated by their teachers via the Child Behavior Checklist-Teacher Report form. Scores were compared to published normative data and to published data from other medically ill pediatric groups. Pathology was defined as present if the child scored greater than two standard deviations above published age and sex-matched norms. Mean factor scores on the CBCL for children with mastocytosis did not differ significantly from published norms, but individual ratings by parents were significantly elevated in four of ten subjects. Moreover, CBCL ratings by parents were similar to those seen in other medically ill pediatric groups. None of the teacher ratings were in the pathological range. The results of this study indicate that no clear excess of pathology exists in children with mastocytosis. Individual children treated with antihistamines for mastocytosis seem to have a nonspecific increase in behavioral difficulties at rates similar to other medically ill groups. No unique behavioral pattern implicating histamine overproduction was identified.

Depression and Anger in Third- and Fourth-Grade Boys: A Multimethod Assessment Approach

Convergent and discriminant validity of measures of depression and anger in 51 third- and fourth-grade boys was examined utilizing a multivariate-multimethod model. Methods included (a) self-report measures — the Child Depression Inventory (Kovacs & Beck, 1977) and the Children's Inventory of Anger (Nelson & Finch, 1978), (b) peer nomination-measures — the Peer Nomination of Anger Control Problems (Finch, Nelson, & Moss, in press) and the Peer Nomination Inventory of Depression (Lefkowitz & Tesiny, 1980), and (c) a teacher report measure—the Child Behavior Checklist-Teacher Report Form (Edelbrock & Achenbach, 1984). The results demonstrated significant convergent validity for the measures but failed to support their discriminant validity. A significant method effect was found. The discussion focused on the lack of correspondence between self-report measures and ratings by others as compared with the moderate agreement between peer nomination and teacher report. Failure to demonstrate discriminant validity...