Problems reported by parents of children in multiple cultures: The child behavior checklist syndrome constructs

Objective: The purpose of this study was to compare syndromes of parent-rep orted problems for children in 12 cultures. Method: Child Behavior Checklis ts were analyzed for 13,697 children and adolescents, ages 6 through 17 yea rs, from general population samples in Australia, Belgium, China, Germany, Greece, Israel, Jamaica, the Netherlands, Puerto Rico, Sweden, Thailand, an d the United States. Results: Comparisons of nine cultures for subjects age s 6 through 17 gave medium effect sizes for cross-cultural variations in wi thdrawn and social problems and small effect sizes for somatic complaints, anxious/depressed, thought problems, attention problems, delinquent behavio r, and aggressive behavior, Scores of Puerto Rican subjects were the highes t, whereas Swedish subjects had the lowest scores on almost all syndromes. With great cross-cultural consistency, girls obtained higher scores than bo ys on somatic complaints and anxious/depressed but lower scores on attentio n problems, delinquent behavior, and aggressive behavior. Although remarkab ly consistent across cultures, the developmental trends differed according to syndrome. Comparison of the 12 cultures across ages 6 through II support ed these results. Conclusions: Empirically based assessment in terms of Chi ld Behavior Checklist syndromes permits comparisons of problems reported fo r children from diverse cultures.