%0 Journal Article
%T Clinical validity of a brief measure of early childhood social-emotional/behavioral problems
%J Journal of pediatric psychology
%D 2013
%A Briggs-Gowan, Margaret J.
%A Carter, Alice S.
%A McCarthy, Kimberly
%A Augustyn, Marilyn
%A Caronna, Elizabeth
%A Clark, Roseanne
%V 38
%N 5
%P 577-587
%X OBJECTIVE: To address a pressing need for measures of clinically significant social-emotional/behavioral problems in young children by examining several validity indicators for a brief parent-report questionnaire. METHODS: An ethnically and economically diverse sample of 213 referred and nonreferred 2- and 3-year-olds was studied. The validity of the Brief Infant-Toddler Social-Emotional Assessment (BITSEA) Problem Index and Internalizing and Externalizing scales was evaluated relative to a "gold standard" diagnostic interview, as well as the Child Behavior Checklist (CBCL). RESULTS: The validity of the BITSEA Problem Index relative to Diagnosis (sensitivity = 72.7%-80.8%, specificity = 70.0%-83.3%) and clinical-range CBCL scores (sensitivity = 80.0%-96.2%, specificity = 75.0%-89.9%) was supported in the full sample and within minority/nonminority groups. Additional results supported the validity of the BITSEA Internalizing and Externalizing scales. CONCLUSIONS: Documented validity suggests that the BITSEA may be a valuable tool to aid screening, identification, and assessment efforts targeting early-emergent social-emotional/behavioral problems. Practical implications and generalizability are discussed.<p /> <p>Language: en</p>
%G en
%I Oxford University Press
%@ 0146-8693
%U http://dx.doi.org/10.1093/jpepsy/jst014