Screening for behavioral and emotional problems in primary care pediatrics

Area of Science:

• Child Psychology
• Pediatric Behavioral Health
• Screening Tools

Background:

• Accurate identification of behavioral and emotional problems in children is crucial for timely intervention.
• Current screening methods in pediatric settings often rely on maternal or clinician reports, potentially missing key indicators.

Purpose of the Study:

• To compare the effectiveness of the mother-completed Missouri Children's Behavior Checklist (MCBC) with pediatrician identification for behavioral problems.
• To examine factors influencing case identification, including child gender, age, and maternal education.

Main Methods:

• Compared MCBC case identification indexes with pediatrician identification in 41 children undergoing well-child examinations.
• Used DSM-III diagnoses, determined via Child Assessment Schedule interviews, as the diagnostic criterion.
• Analyzed the influence of child gender, age, and maternal education on identification rates.

Main Results:

• The MCBC demonstrated superior case identification indexes compared to pediatrician identification.
• MCBC showed improvements in both overidentification and underidentification rates.
• Pediatrician identification was positively correlated with maternal education, while MCBC identification was inversely correlated with child age.

Conclusions:

• The mother-completed MCBC is a more effective tool for identifying behavioral and emotional problems in pediatric primary care.
• Integrating child self-report with maternal report in screening procedures is essential for comprehensive and accurate assessment.
• Findings underscore the need for multi-informant approaches in pediatric behavioral screening.