Craig Edelbrock

The Pediatrician as Gatekeeper to Mental Health Care for Children: Do Parents' Concerns Open the Gate?

Data from a study of children seen for pediatric care in a Health Maintenance Organization are used to examine factors which influence the likelihood that a pediatrician will identify a psychiatric problem and refer an identified child to a mental health specialist for further evaluation and treatment. Parental level of distress, family psychiatric history, and discussion of parental concerns with the pediatrician were found to be important. Characteristics of the service delivery system which may impede appropriate identification and referral are discussed. Implications for participation of child and adolescent psychiatrists in the training of pediatricians are presented.

Reliability and validity of the direct observation form of the child behavior checklist

This article reports reliability and validity data for the Direct Observation Form (DOF) of the Child Behavior Checklist. Observational data were collected on two samples of boys aged 6–11 in classroom settings. Interobserver agreement was high: r=.92 for behavior problem score and r =.83 for on-task score. Generalizability, as measured by the one-way intraclass correlation, was .86 and .71 for behavior problem score and on-task score, respectively. In terms of validity, DOF scores correlated significantly and in the expected directions with teacher-reported problem behavior, school performance, and adaptive functioning. In addition, boys who had been referred by their teachers due to problem behavior obtained significantly higher behavior problem scores and significantly lower on-task scores than a matched sample of normal boys observed in the same classrooms.

Taxonomic Issues in Child Psychopathology

Although taxonomic issues may seem remote from everyday work with disturbed children, they lurk about in many guises. We will first consider these guises and then discuss ways to give taxonomy a more open and constructive role in helping disturbed children.

Convergent and Discriminant Validity of the Burks Behavior Rating Scales

The construct validity of the Burks Behavior Rating Scales was investigated by the multitrait-multimethod matrix procedure. Correlations between parent and teacher ratings of 38 children referred for psychological evaluations supported the convergent and discriminant validity of 9 of the 19 scales. Analyses of teacher-teacher correlations for 40 referred children supported the validity of 16 scales. The construct validity of three previously derived broad-band factors labeled Neurotic, Immature, and Hostile-Aggressive was not supported. Results were discussed in terms of the differential validity of the Burks scales. Caution was urged in interpreting scores on scales labeled Poor Intellectuality and Excessive Suffering, as well as scores on the three broad-band factors.