Concurrent Validity of the CBCL DSM-Oriented Scales: Evidence from the ABCD Study

Area of Science:

• Child and Adolescent Psychiatry
• Psychometric Validation
• Neurodevelopmental Research

Background:

• The Child Behavior Checklist (CBCL) DSM-Oriented Scales (DOSs) are widely used for identifying psychiatric disorders in children.
• Previous research on the validity of CBCL DOSs in diagnosing DSM disorders has produced inconsistent results.

Purpose of the Study:

• This study aimed to evaluate the concurrent validity of the CBCL DOSs.
• The research compared CBCL DOS classifications with a gold-standard clinical diagnostic interview.

Main Methods:

• The study utilized data from 11,851 children in the NIH Adolescent Brain Cognitive Development (ABCD) study.
• Caregivers completed the CBCL, and children underwent the Kiddie Schedule for Affective Disorders and Schizophrenia (KSADS) semi-structured interview at baseline and/or two-year follow-up.

Main Results:

• Sensitivity of the CBCL DOSs ranged from 10.36% to 75.00%, with only two scales exceeding 50%.
• Specificity was high (92.47% - 97.07%), but positive predictive values were low (0.71% - 48.20%).
• Area Under the Curve (AUC) values varied between 0.55 and 0.84.

Conclusions:

• The CBCL DOSs demonstrated poor concurrent validity when compared to the KSADS clinical interview in this large sample.
• Clinicians should exercise caution when interpreting CBCL DOS results due to a high rate of false negatives.