Psychopathology of childhood

We considered problems of assessment and taxonomy that have hindered the study of childhood disorders. Many instruments have been developed for assessing children's behavior as seen by parents, teachers, clinicians, trained observers, peers, and children themselves. Multivariate analyses of behavior problems show consistencies in the identification of a few broad-band patterns and more numerous narrow-band syndromes, despite differences in specific items comprising different instruments. Satisfactory reliability has been achieved in many instances, although the variability of children's problem behavior limits agreement among informants who see children under different conditions. Despite their disagreements, however, each informant's perspective may validly contribute to the comprehensive assessment of a child's needs. The quantitative, relativistic, and developmental aspects of children's behavior disorders argue for replacing categorical approaches to assessment and taxonomy with taxometric approaches that capitalize on quantitative methods for identifying and assessing children's behavioral problems and competencies.