A typology of parent rated child behavior for a national US sample

The purpose of the current study was to build on the emerging effort to pro duce a meaningful typology of child behavior for school-aged children. The Behavior Assessment System for Children (BASC) Parent Rating Scales for Chi ldren (PRS-C) norming data were collected for 2029 6- to 11-year-old childr en at 116 sites representing various regions of the United States. The PRS- C has 130 items that are rated by the parent on a 4-point scale of frequenc y, ranging from " never " to " almost always ". The Ward method of cluster analysis was used to identify the initial centroids or cluster seeds in thi s norming sample. An iterative clustering method, a K-means procedure, was used to refine the Ward cluster solution. A nine-cluster solution was selec ted based on both rational and empirical considerations. The resulting clus ters were labeled adapted, physical complaints/worry, average, well-adapted , minimal problems, attention problems, internalizing, general psychopathol ogy-severe, and disruptive behavior problems. The nine-cluster solution is similar to those of Achenbach (1991), Thompson, Kronenberger, and Curry (19 89), and other researchers. At the same time, some significant differences exist. The resulting typology points the way toward future cluster studies of child psychopathology and normal behavioral development by delineating a dditional research and theoretical directions.