CONVERGENT VALIDITY OF THE INTERNALIZING SYMPTOMS SCALE FOR CHILDREN WITH 3 SELF-REPORT MEASURES OF INTERNALIZING PROBLEMS

Data that serve to support the convergent validity of the Internalizin g Symptoms Scale for Children (ISSC), a new child self-report measure for assessing internalizing symptoms, are presented. The results of th ree studies are presented, wherein ISSC scores were correlated with th ree established internalizing comparison measures: the Youth Self-Repo rt, the Children's Depression Inventory, and the Revised Children's Ma nifest Anxiety Scale. Correlations were in the desired direction and m agnitude for demonstrating the convergent validity of the ISSC as a se lf-report measure of internalizing symptoms of children. Strong correl ations were found between the ISSC and the Internalizing broad-band sc ore of the Youth Self-Report, whereas moderate to moderately high corr elations were found between the scores of the ISSC and those of the Ch ildren's Depression Inventory and the Revised Children's Manifest Anxi ety Scale. The ISSC appears to measure the internalizing construct in children and to have promise as a research and clinical tool for use w ith children ages 8 to 12. Limitations of this investigation and impli cations for future research in this area are discussed.