Identifying psychosocial dysfunction in School-Age children: The pediatric symptom checklist as a Self-Report measure

• Published in: Psychology in the schools Vol. 37; no. 2; pp. 91 - 106
• Main Authors: Pagano, Maria E., Cassidy, Linden J., Little, Michelle, Murphy, J. Michael, Jellinek, And Michael S.
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: New York John Wiley & Sons, Inc 01.03.2000; Wiley
• Subjects: Biological and medical sciences; Medical sciences; Psychology. Psychoanalysis. Psychiatry; Psychometrics. Diagnostic aid systems; Psychopathology. Psychiatry; Techniques and methods; Human; Social environment; Questionnaire; Prediction; Psychometrics; School environment; Test validation; School age; Convergent validity; Pediatric Symptom Checklist Murphy et al; Mental disorder; Diagnosis; Child
• ISSN: 0033-3085; 1520-6807
• DOI: 10.1002/(SICI)1520-6807(200003)37:2<91::AID-PITS1>3.0.CO;2-3

The Pediatric Symptom Checklist (PSC) is a brief, well‐validated parent‐report questionnaire designed to detect psychosocial dysfunction in school‐age children during pediatric primary care visits. This study assessed the utility of the PSC when completed by children (PSC‐Y) ages 9‐14 in a public school when parents are not available (n= 173). The PSC‐Y identified 20% of children as having psychosocial problems, a rate similar to other low‐income samples. When compared with teacher ratings of attention and behavior problems, the PSC‐Y showed a sensitivity of 94% and a specificity of 88%. The PSC‐Y correlated significantly with teacher and parent measures of child dysfunction, and with child‐reported symptoms of depression and anxiety. Three quarters of the children identified by the PSC‐Y were not identified by parents on the PSC. These children had impairment on all other measures, but fewer than one in five had received mental health services, suggesting the PSC‐Y identified children with unmet mental health needs. The PSC‐Y has the potential to be a rapid, easily administered tool for large‐scale mental health screening in schools. © 2000 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.