Emotional/Behavioral Problems in Clinic and Nonclinic Children: Correspondence Among Child, Parent and Teacher Reports

This study examined the correspondence among child, parent and teacher reports, in rating emotional and behavioral problems of 98 community nonpatients and 64 clinically referred children (ages 6-13). The mean ratings differed significantly for the three sources and for the two samples, and there were a few significant interactions. Correlations of the scores between sources, especially parents and teachers, were in the moderate range and were not significantly different from one another. Informant correspondence was higher for externalizing than internalizing problems in both patient and nonpatient samples, and was higher for nonpatients than patients. In general, informant agreement was higher for cases characterized by lower family stress and higher child acceptance, among other clinical variables.