Epidemiological comparisons of American and Dutch children: II. behavioral/ emotional problems reported by teachers for ages 6 to 11

The purpose of this study was to test the cross-national applicability of a standardized procedure for obtaining teachers’ reports of children’s behavioral/emotional problems. The Teacher’s Report Form of the Child Behavior Checklist was completed by teachers of 600 American and 748 Dutch nonreferred children randomly selected from regular school classes. Analyses controlling for sex, age, and socioeconomic status showed no significant difference between the total problem scores for American versus Dutch children, nor between the number of specific problems scored higher for one nationality than the other, nor between the proportion of internalizing versus externalizing problems scored higher for either nationality. Parent and teacher reports were compared to identify problems on which there were consistent nationality, sex, and socioeconomic differences The findings support standardized cross-national assessment of teacher-reported behavioral/emotional problems.

• View at Publisher
• View at Scopus