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A symptom self-report measure for preschool children
D R Martini1, J M Strayhorn, J Puig-Antich
1Department of Psychiatry, Western Psychiatric Institute and Clinic, Pittsburgh, PA.
Summary
The Preschool Symptom Self-Report (PRESS) is a reliable tool for young children to report depressive symptoms. Children’s self-reports did not align with adult ratings, similar to findings in older children.
Area of Science:
- Child Psychology
- Clinical Psychology
- Developmental Psychology
Background:
- Assessing depressive symptoms in preschool children presents unique challenges.
- Existing measures often rely on adult observation, potentially missing children's subjective experiences.
Purpose of the Study:
- To evaluate the Preschool Symptom Self-Report (PRESS), a pictorial instrument for preschooler self-reporting of depressive symptoms.
- To assess the reliability and validity of the PRESS in a Head Start population.
Main Methods:
- The PRESS was administered to 84 preschool children, with data also collected from their parents and teachers.
- Reliability was assessed through retesting within 24 hours and internal consistency analysis.
- Correlations were examined between the parent-teacher version of PRESS and other adult-rated depression measures.
Main Results:
- The parent-teacher version of PRESS demonstrated good correlation with existing adult-rated depression measures.
- The instrument exhibited high test-retest reliability and internal consistency.
- Retest reliability was independent of children's mental age.
- Children's self-reports on PRESS did not correlate with adult ratings of their symptoms.
Conclusions:
- The PRESS is a reliable and internally consistent tool for assessing depressive symptoms in preschool children.
- The lack of correlation between child self-reports and adult ratings suggests distinct perspectives in symptom reporting.
- Further research is warranted to explore the clinical utility of child self-report measures in early childhood depression.