SCREENING FOR PSYCHOSOCIAL PROBLEMS IN 4-5-YEAR-OLDS DURING ROUTINE EPSDT EXAMINATIONS - VALIDITY AND RELIABILITY IN A MEXICAN-AMERICAN SAMPLE

The effectiveness of the Pediatric Symptom Checklist (PSC) as a psycho social screening measure to meet Federal Medicaid/Early and Periodic S creening, Diagnosis, and Treatment (EPSDT) requirements was examined i n 117 low-income preschool (aged 4-5 years old) Hispanic children duri ng well-child examinations in three clinics over an 8-month period, Th e PSC identified 7% of the sample as at risk for psychosocial problems , The PSC was significantly associated with parental ratings of the ch ildren's problems in functioning, with pediatric clinicians' decisions to make mental health referrals, with degrees of associations similar to those found between PSC scores, and with the same measures with sc hool-aged children in the same clinics, Cronbach's alpha was high (r=. 87) and virtually identical in English, Spanish, oral, and written for mats, Although it identified a slightly lower rate of psychosocial pro blems in 4-5-year-olds than it had in school-aged children, the PSC ap peared to provide an effective method of screening for psychosocial pr oblems during EPSDT examinations.