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Pediatric Symptom Checklist: screening school-age children for psychosocial dysfunction
M S Jellinek1, J M Murphy, J Robinson
1Child Psychiatry Service, Massachusetts General Hospital, Boston 02114.
Insights
The Pediatric Symptom Checklist (PSC) effectively screens school-age children for psychosocial dysfunction. This parent-completed tool demonstrates high sensitivity and good specificity in identifying children needing further evaluation.
Area of Science:
- Pediatric healthcare
- Psychosocial assessment
- Clinical screening tools
Background:
- Pediatricians require reliable tools to identify psychosocial issues in children.
- The Pediatric Symptom Checklist (PSC) is a parent-reported questionnaire for this purpose.
Purpose of the Study:
- To evaluate the validity of the Pediatric Symptom Checklist (PSC).
- To assess the PSC's utility in identifying psychosocial dysfunction in school-aged children within outpatient pediatric settings.
Main Methods:
- Screening of 300 children across two pediatric practices.
- Comparing PSC results with in-depth interviews and pediatrician ratings for 48 children.
- Assessing parent and pediatrician acceptance of the screening process.
Main Results:
- The PSC demonstrated a sensitivity of 0.95 and a specificity of 0.68.
- The screening process was well-received by both parents and pediatricians.
- The PSC identified children with significant psychosocial dysfunction missed by initial pediatrician assessments.
Conclusions:
- The Pediatric Symptom Checklist (PSC) is a valid and sensitive tool for screening psychosocial dysfunction in children.
- The PSC aids pediatricians in identifying children who require further evaluation for psychosocial issues.
- Parental completion of the PSC is feasible and accepted in routine pediatric practice.
Abstract:
The Pediatric Symptom Checklist (PSC) is a 35-item screening questionnaire that is completed by parents and designed to help pediatricians in outpatient practice identify school-age children with difficulties in psychosocial functioning. The current study assessed the validity of the PSC by screening 300 children in two pediatric practices, a middle-class group practice and an urban health maintenance organization. Validity was established by comparing the results of PSC screening of 48 children with in-depth interview assessments and pediatricians' ratings. Results indicate that the PSC has a specificity of 0.68 and a sensitivity of 0.95. The screening process was well accepted by parents and pediatricians. Several children whose pediatricians' ratings had indicated adequate functioning were identified by the PSC as having substantial psychosocial dysfunction and requiring further evaluation.