Child Behavior Checklist

The Child Behavior Checklist (CBCL) is a widely used caregiver report form identifying
problem behavior in children.[1][2] It is widely used in both research and clinical practice with
youths. It has been translated into more than 90 languages,[3] and normative data are available
integrating information from multiple societies. Because a core set of the items have been included
in every version of the CBCL since the 1980s, it provides a meter stick for measuring whether
amounts of behavior problems have changed over time or across societies. This is a helpful
complement to other approaches for looking at rates of mental-health issues, as the definitions of
disorders have changed repeatedly over the same time frame.

It is a component in the Achenbach System of Empirically Based Assessment developed by Thomas

M. Achenbach.

Versions and nature of test

Across versions, the first pages of the CBCL record demographic information and ratings of
positive behaviors, academic functioning (school aged version only), and social competence. The
last two pages list common behavior problems, each listed as a brief statement about the child's
behavior, e.g., Acts too young for his/her age. Responses are recorded on a Likert scale: 0 = Not
True, 1 = Somewhat or Sometimes True, 2 = Very True or Often True. The Child Behavior Checklist
exists in two different versions, depending on the age of the child being referred to.

Pre-school

For the preschool version of the CBCL (CBCL/1½-5), parents or others who interact with the child
in regular contexts rate the child's behavior. Respondents rate the child's behavior on a 3-point
scale (not true, somewhat or sometimes true, and very true or often true), and are instructed to
rate the behavior as it occurs now or within the previous two months. This delineation differs from
the instructions on other age-versions, due to the fact that rapid development and behavioral
changes in the preschool age range are common. The preschool checklist contains 100 problem
behavior questions.

School-age

Like on the preschool version, the school-age version of the CBCL (CBCL/6-18) instructs a
respondent who knows the child well (usually a parent or other close caregiver) to report on the
child's problems. Alternative measures are available for teachers (the Teacher's Report Form) and
the child (the Youth Self Report, for youths age 11 to 18 years). The school-age checklist contains
118 problem behavior questions.
Scoring
The main scoring for the CBCL is based on statistical groupings of sets of behaviors that typically
occur together. The original scale used principal components analysis to group the items, [4] and
more recent research has used confirmatory factor analysis to test the structure.[5][6][7] Similar
questions are grouped into a number of syndrome scale scores, and their scores are summed to
produce a raw score for that syndrome.

The eight empirically based "narrowband"[8] syndrome scales are:

1. Aggressive Behavior
2. Anxious/Depressed
3. Attention Problems
4. Rule-Breaking Behavior
5. Somatic Complaints
6. Social Problems
7. Thought Problems
8. Withdrawn/Depressed.

There are two "broadband"[8] scales that combine several of the syndrome scales: Internalizing
problems sums the Anxious/depressed, Withdrawn-depressed, and Somatic complaints scores;
Externalizing problems combines Rule-breaking and Aggressive behavior. There also is a Total
problems score, which is the sum of the scores of all the problem items.

After 2001, the CBCL also included a set of "DSM-oriented" scales,[9][10] made of items that a panel
of experts picked as matching parts of the diagnostic criteria for DSM-IV disorders. The CBCL also
has a few items that only contribute to the Total score, which were considered clinically important
even though too rare to lump into the syndrome scales.

The CBCL also uses a normative sample to create standard scores. These compare the raw score to
what would be typical compared to responses for youths of the same gender and similar age (the
school-aged version splits the age groups into 6–10 years and 11–18 years). The standard scores are
scaled so that 50 is average for the youth's age and gender, with a standard deviation of 10 points.
Higher scores indicate greater problems. For each syndrome, Internalizing and Externalizing
problem scales, and the total score, scores can be interpreted as falling in the normal, borderline,
or clinical behavior. Any score that falls below the 93rd percentile is considered normal, scores
between the 93–97th percentile are borderline clinical, and any score above the 97th percentile are
in the clinical range.

Norms take into account both age and gender; there are separate norms for girls and boys, and
separate norms for ages 6–11 and ages 12–18.

Psychometric properties

Reliability
Reliability refers to whether the scores are reproducible. Unless otherwise specified, the reliability
scores and values come from studies done with a United States population sample.
 Rubric for evaluating norms and reliability for the General Behavior Inventory [a][11]

Rating (adequate,
Criterion good, excellent, too Explanation with references
good[b])

National probability samples used to

Norms Excellent
establish norms.

Empirically Based Scales[2]

▪ Anxious/Depressed = .84
▪ Withdrawn/Depressed = .80
▪ Somatic Complaints = .78
▪ Social Problems = .82
▪ Thought Problems = .78
▪ Attention Problems = .86
▪ Rule-Breaking Behavior = .85
▪ Aggressive Behavior = .94
Ranges from Good to ▪ Internalizing Broad Band Score = .90
Internal Consistency
Excellent (depending
(Cronbach's alpha) ▪ Externalizing Broad Band Score =.94
on scale)
▪ Total Problems Score = .97

DSM-Oriented Scales[2]

▪ Affective Problems = .82

▪ Anxiety Problems = .72
▪ Somatic Problems = .75
▪ ADHD Problems = .84
▪ Oppositional Defiant Problems = .86
▪ Conduct Problems = .91

Empirically Based Scales[2]

▪ Anxious/Depressed = .68
▪ Withdrawn/Depressed = .69
▪ Somatic Complaints = .65
▪ Social Problems = .77
▪ Thought Problems = .75
▪ Attention Problems = .73
▪ Rule-Breaking Behavior = .85
Inter-rater reliability ▪ Aggressive Behavior = .82
(Pearson rs between mother Adequate ▪ Internalizing Broad Band Score = .72
and father ratings)
▪ Externalizing Broad Band Score =.85
▪ Total Problems Score = .80

DSM-Oriented Scales[2]

▪ Affective Problems = .69

▪ Anxiety Problems = .66
▪ Somatic Problems = .63
▪ ADHD Problems = .70
 ▪ Oppositional Defiant Problems = .74
▪ Conduct Problems = .88

r = .85 for the preschool version and r =

Test-retest reliability Adequate .90 for the school-age version over 6–18
days.[12]

a. Table from Youngstrom et al., extending Hunsley & Mash, 2008

b. Indicates new construct or category

References
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External links
▪ Child Behavior Checklist 1½-5 (https://web.archive.org/web/20130530223759/htt
p://www.aseba.org/preschool.html)
▪ Child Behavior Checklist 6–18 (https://web.archive.org/web/20130531034515/htt
p://www.aseba.org/schoolage.html)
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