Determinants of multiple informant agreement on child and adolescent behavior

This study examined whether characteristics of behavioral items reported by parent and child are related to parent-child agreement. Data were collected from 20 judges rating 59 child behaviors on 11 dimensions hypothesized to affect parent-child agreement. Data from 675 parent-child dyads (85% female caregivers, 62% male children, aged 7-17) reporting on 59 child behaviors were used to examine agreement. Behavior characteristics accounted for 43% of variability in parent-child agreement. Three components, saliency to the parent, saliency to the child, and observability/willingness to report, contributed uniquely to prediction of agreement.