Syndromal structure of psychopathology in children of Thailand and the United States

Are the syndromes of child psychopathology similar across cultures? Yes, in most comparisons of Western cultures. Here the authors compared Thailand and the United States, Eastern and Western cultures differing markedly in racial/ethnic composition, religious-philosophical traditions, and beliefs an...

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Bibliographic Details
Published inJournal of consulting and clinical psychology Vol. 71; no. 2; p. 375
Main Authors Weisz, John R, Weiss, Bahr, Suwanlert, Somsong, Chaiyasit, Wanchai
Format Journal Article
LanguageEnglish
Published United States 01.04.2003
Subjects
Child
Cross-Cultural Comparison
Factor Analysis, Statistical
Female
Humans
Male
Mental Disorders - epidemiology
Mental Disorders - psychology
Syndrome
Thailand - epidemiology
United States
Thailand
United States
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Summary:Are the syndromes of child psychopathology similar across cultures? Yes, in most comparisons of Western cultures. Here the authors compared Thailand and the United States, Eastern and Western cultures differing markedly in racial/ethnic composition, religious-philosophical traditions, and beliefs and practices regarding children. Exploratory factor analysis and a useful kappa approach were used to compare Child Behavior Checklist factor structure in Thai and American children aged 6 to 11. A few syndromes (e.g., somatic problems) showed strong cross-cultural agreement; most did not. Among the narrowband syndromes (e.g., aggression, anxiety), more than half the cross-cultural comparisons showed concordance kappas at or below .40. Such differences in syndromal structure have implications for child classification, assessment, psychopathology, and treatment research, both across and within cultures.
ISSN:0022-006X
DOI:10.1037/0022-006X.71.2.375