Behavioral and emotional problems in Chinese adolescents: Parent and teacher reports

Objective: This study examined behavioral and emotional problems in Chinese adolescents. Method: A sample of 1,694 adolescents aged 12 to 16 years par ticipated in this study in 1997. Parents completed the Child Behavior Check list (CBCL), and teachers completed the Teacher's Report Form (TRF). Result s: For both parent and teacher reports. internalizing syndromes were scored higher in girls and externalizing syndromes were scored higher in boys. Sc ores on most of the CBCL and TRF subscales were higher for the older adoles cents. The overall prevalence rates of parent- and teacher-reported behavio ral problems were 23.1% and 19.2%, respectively. The eight cross-informant syndromes were highly comorbid, with a significant association across syndr omes (mean odds ratio = 16.1 for CBCL and 22.5 for TRF). Correlations betwe en parent and teacher reports were 0.51 for eight subscales and 0.68 for To tal Problems. Conclusions: These findings demonstrate that behavioral and e motional problems tend to increase with age and cluster in the same individ uals. The prevalence rates of behavioral problems in Chinese adolescents ar e comparable to those reported in Western countries. In contrast to finding s for Western samples, parent reports of behavioral problems were highly co rrelated with teacher reports.