COMMUNITY-BASED MULTIPLE-GATE SCREENING OF CHILDREN AT RISK FOR CONDUCT DISORDER

The present study employed a multiple-gate screening procedure to iden tify children at risk for the development of conduct disorder. Measure s of cross-setting disruptive behavior and parent discipline practices were administered in sequential fashion to screen a population of 7,2 31 children attending suburban elementary schools. Convergent validity of the respective gating measures was confirmed by significant correl ations with adjustment constructs. Analyses of covariance performed be tween positive screens, negative screens, and low-risk comparison chil dren on adjustment constructs at each gate supported the discriminativ e validity of the gating procedure. Hierarchical regression analyses d emonstrated that the gating measures were predictive of diagnostic rat ings of attention deficit hyperactivity disorder and oppositional defi ant disorder that were obtained 18 months following the screening. A s tepwise logistic regression analysis indicated that the best predictor s of high-risk group membership were variables related to family proce ss, including poor family communication and involvement, poor maternal coping skills, and an external parent locus of control.