CHILD-BEHAVIOR CHECKLIST CLASSIFICATION OF BEHAVIOR DISORDER

Objective: The aim of this study was to determine the applicability of the published clinical cut-off scores of the Child Behaviour Checklis t (CBCL) for the classification of behaviour disorders. Methodology: C hild Behaviour Checklists were obtained for 1342 subjects newly referr ed to the six major mental health centres in Melbourne. The normative community sample of 1002 7-, 12- and 15-year-olds was drawn from a sch ool-based asthma prevalence study. Results: The mean total problem T-s core for the children referred to mental health centres was 67 and was above the clinical range for all age groups. Using referral to psychi atric services as the gold standard, the sensitivity and specificity o f the CBCL using a cut-off of greater than or equal to 60, was 77.4 an d 83.2%, respectively. This compares favourably with the sensitivity o f 68% and specificity of 82% for the American sample. Using a cut-off score of greater than or equal to 63, the sensitivity was 70.5% and th e specificity was 88.6%. The referred and community samples differed w ith respect to socio-economic status, family structure and mothers' le vel of education. Fifty-two per cent of the clinically referred childr en lived with both parents, compared with 89% of the community sample. Conclusions: While there are some limitations to this study in terms of both the clinic and community sample, support is provided for the u sefulness and applicability of the recommended CBCL cut-off scores in an Australian population.