The classification of children and their emotional problems

Background for and development of a brief Children's Behavioral Classification Project Inventory

A brief form of the Children's Behavioral Classification Project Inventory was developed. A Proto-CBCP Inventory consisting of 229 behavioral items and 11 demographic variables was administered to 351 parents of children with clinical problems and 80 normal control parents. The analyses of these data were thoroughly criticised by experts in psychology and related fields. From this critique and trial runs which included 22 demographic variables, a full inventory of 274 behavioral items plus child's age, sex and clinic vs nonclinic status resulted; this inventory has a 30-factor structure. Given the length of the full-scale inventory and the number of factors derived from it, a briefer form was created consisting of 189 items from which were derived 13 factors. This inventory was standardized on a total n of 1379 for use as a screening device in clinics.

Prediction of recreational therapy behavior of hospitalized adolescents from a behavior classification instrument

The purpose of this study was to estimate the validity of an instrument of the Adolescent Behavioral Classification Project in predicting behavior patterns of emotionally disturbed adolescents in an inpatient setting. Subjects (n = 126) were adolescents admitted to a state residential treatment unit across a period of 35 months. Predictor variables were scores on 17 or 25 factors of the instrument from both adolescents' own responses and their mothers' responses on their behalf. Criterion variables were 10 recreational therapy factors, especially 4 temporally stable factors, and length-of-time in treatment. 3 phases of the project were (I) behavior during initial stages of the therapy, (II) behavioral change after 3 months of therapy, and (III) length-of-time in treatment. In Phase I, both mothers' and adolescents' responses produced significant correlations with criteria; however, in Phase II only the adolescent students' 25 ABCP factors predicted behavioral change. In Phase III, adolescents' responses but not their mothers' responses classified the adolescents by length-of-time in treatment.

Principal components analyses of behavior problems in Jamaican clinic-referred children: teacher reports for ages 6-17

Factor analyses of child behavior problems have often yielded two broad-band syndromes, Overcontrolled (e.g., worrying, fearfulness, withdrawal) and Undercontrolled (e.g., restlessness, fighting, disobedience). We explored whether these two broad-band syndromes might be identified for youngsters in Jamaica. We obtained teacher reports for 320 clinic-referred Jamaican youngsters on a 24-item problem checklist designed by Jamaican clinicians for the assessment of child behavior problems and subjected these to principal components analyses. Regardless of whether the sample was split according to age or sex, the analyses revealed factors similar to the Over- and Undercontrolled syndromes most often found in other cultures. The analyses also revealed school absence factors in each age and sex group; school avoidance was correlated with crying in children (aged 6-11) but with conduct problems in adolescents (aged 12-17). The findings suggest important similarities and possible differences between the factor structures of child behavior problems in Jamaica and the United States.

Clustering Seven Data Sets by Means of Some or All of Seven Clustering Methods

Seven data sets, one artificially contrived, the others real data from different areas of psychology and sociology but mainly concerned with children, were subjected to clustering by seven different algorithms. These methods are for the most part rather well known: Holzinger and Harman's (1941) B-coefficient, Overall and Klett's (1972) Linear Typal Analysis, McQuitty and Koch's (1974a, b) elementary linkage analysis, Rohlf and his colleagues' (Rohlf, Kishpaugh, & Kirk, 1971) Numerical Taxonomy System, the Statistical Analysis System (SAS Institute, 1982) hierarchical clustering (Cluster) method, Cattell and Coulter's (1966) Taxonome, and one not very well known, Bolz's (1978) Type Analysis. Insofar as possible, all methods were run on all sets of data on the computer with appropriate adjustments to the respective programs. With the B-coefficient both hand and machine calculations were carried out. Statistical and logical comparisons were made among the different methods used on the data sets. All methods had their strengths and weaknesses, some being more adequate with some data sets and others with others. Surprisingly, the B-coefficient, at least with smaller sets compared favorably with other methods, even though it is scarcely known to modern clustering literature.

Empirical evidence for overt and covert patterns of antisocial conduct problems: a metaanalysis

Twenty-eight factor- and cluster-analytic studies of child psychopathology were examined for patterns in antisocial behavior. A multidimensional scaling analysis yielded one dimension that was labeled overt-covert antisocial behavior. One end of this dimension consisted of overt or confrontive antisocial behaviors such as arguing, temper tantrums, and fighting. The other end consisted of covert or concealed antisocial behaviors such as stealing, truancy, and fire setting. Implications derived from the present findings are discussed as they apply to the diagnosis, prevention, and treatment of antisocial behaviors in children.