BEHAVIORAL AND EMOTIONAL-PROBLEMS IN YOUNG PRESCHOOLERS - CROSS-CULTURAL TESTING OF THE VALIDITY OF THE CHILD-BEHAVIOR CHECKLIST 2-3/

The cross-cultural validity of the Child Behavior Checklist for Ages 2 -3 (CBCL/2-3) was tested in three Dutch samples of children referred t o mental health services, from the general population, and from a twin study. Six scales were derived from factor analyses and labeled Oppos itional, Aggressive, and Overactive, which constituted a broadband Ext ernalizing grouping; Withdrawn/Depressed and Anxious, which constitute d a broadband Internalizing grouping; and Sleep Problems. Internal con sistencies of the scales, their test-retest reliabilities, interparent agreement, discriminative power, predictive relations with problem ra tings 2 years later, and relations to other instruments designed to me asure general development and behavior problems were adequate, and hig hly comparable to psychometric properties in American samples. It was concluded that across languages and cultures behavioral/emotional prob lems of young preschoolers may be adequately assessed with the CBCL/2- 3.