TY  - JOUR
PY  - 2016//
TI  - Identifying unbiased items for screening preschoolers for disruptive behavior problems
JO  - Journal of pediatric psychology
A1  - Studts, Christina R.
A1  - Polaha, Jodi
A1  - van Zyl, Michiel A.
SP  - 476
EP  - 486
VL  - 42
IS  - 4
N2  - OBJECTIVE : Efficient identification and referral to behavioral services are crucial in addressing early-onset disruptive behavior problems. Existing screening instruments for preschoolers are not ideal for pediatric primary care settings serving diverse populations. Eighteen candidate items for a new brief screening instrument were examined to identify those exhibiting measurement bias (i.e., differential item functioning, DIF) by child characteristics. <br><br>METHOD : Parents/guardians of preschool-aged children (N = 900) from four primary care settings completed two full-length behavioral rating scales. Items measuring disruptive behavior problems were tested for DIF by child race, sex, and socioeconomic status using two approaches: item response theory-based likelihood ratio tests and ordinal logistic regression. <br><br>RESULTS : Of 18 items, eight were identified with statistically significant DIF by at least one method. <br><br>CONCLUSIONS : The bias observed in 8 of 18 items made them undesirable for screening diverse populations of children. These items were excluded from the new brief screening tool.<br><br>© The Author 2016. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of the Society of Pediatric Psychology. All rights reserved. For permissions, please e-mail: journals.permissions@oup.com.<p />  <p>Language: en</p>
LA  - en
SN  - 0146-8693
UR  - http://dx.doi.org/10.1093/jpepsy/jsw090
ID  - ref1
ER  -