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The Preschool Pediatric Symptom Checklist (PPSC): development and initial validation of a new social/emotional

R Christopher Sheldrick1, Brandi S Henson, Shela Merchant

  • 1Division of Developmental-Behavioral Pediatrics, Floating Hospital for Children Tufts Medical Center, Boston, MA 02111, USA. rsheldrick@tuftsmedicalcenter.org

Academic Pediatrics
|August 28, 2012
PubMed

Insights

The Preschool Pediatric Symptom Checklist (PPSC) is a new tool for screening social/emotional issues in young children. It demonstrates reliability and accuracy comparable to existing screeners in pediatric primary care settings.

Area of Science:

  • Child Psychology
  • Pediatric Healthcare
  • Psychometric Assessment

Background:

  • Social/emotional development is crucial in early childhood.
  • Existing screening tools may have limitations in primary care settings.
  • There is a need for brief, reliable instruments for early identification of developmental concerns.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To describe the development and initial validation of the Preschool Pediatric Symptom Checklist (PPSC).
  • To establish the PPSC as a social/emotional screening instrument for children aged 18-60 months.
  • To adapt the Pediatric Symptom Checklist model for preschool-aged children.

Main Methods:

  • Expert review of existing instruments and literature for item generation.
  • Scale construction and validation using factor analysis on data from 292 primary care and 354 referral clinic families.
  • Independent replication sample of 171 families from primary care sites.

Main Results:

  • Exploratory factor analysis identified four dimensions: Externalizing, Internalizing, Attention Problems, and Parenting Challenges.
  • A bifactor model supported a strong general factor and total score use.
  • The PPSC demonstrated strong internal and retest reliability.
  • The PPSC effectively identified children with clinical scores on the Child Behavior Checklist and those with behavioral diagnoses.
  • Sensitivity and specificity were comparable to the Ages & Stages Questionnaire: Social/Emotional.
  • Results were consistent in an independent replication sample.

Conclusions:

  • The Preschool Pediatric Symptom Checklist (PPSC) shows promise as a valid and reliable social/emotional screening tool.
  • The PPSC is suitable for use in pediatric primary care settings for children aged 18-60 months.
  • The PPSC offers a brief yet effective method for early identification of social/emotional difficulties.
Abstract

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