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Behavior problems in 5- to 11-year-old children from low-income families
Objective:
The aims of the present study were to survey the Child Behavior Checklist (CBCL) scores (behavioral section) in a nonclinical population of US urban children from low-income families and to compare the distribution and pattern of scores with the normative data in the CBCL manual (1991).
Method:
The sample consisted of 890 low-income children and a mother or female guardian selected randomly from among Seattle public school students aged 5 to 11 years.
Results:
In this sample the total CBCL score as well as all subscale scores were significantly higher than the norms. The proportion of children who scored in the clinical/borderline range was also higher than the norm.
Conclusions:
These findings support previous work showing that poverty is a risk factor for mental distress in children. They also raise questions about the validity of the CBCL norms for screening or research purpose for low-income families.