Modelling sources of informant variance in parent and teacher ratings of child psychopathology

✍ Scribed by Gwendolyn E.P. Zahner; Constantine Daskalakis

• Publisher: John Wiley and Sons
• Year: 1998
• Tongue: English
• Weight: 489 KB
• Volume: 7
• Category: Article
• ISSN: 1049-8931
• DOI: 10.1002/mpr.30

✦ Synopsis

Abstract

Factors influencing agreement between parent and teacher ratings of child psychopathology were studied in a population‐based survey of 1458 children aged six to 11. Child psychopathology was assessed with the Child Behaviour Checklist. Agreement on the internalizing scale, the externalizing scale, and the total score was assessed using log‐linear models. Characteristics of the children and the informants, as well as variables pertaining to the testing conditions, were examined as possible predictors of informant agreement. In general, parent–teacher agreement was low on all three scales, especially on the internalizing scale, although it was significantly better than chance. Most of the beyond‐chance agreement was due to the tendency for parents to give higher ratings when teachers did (correlation of ratings). Measures representing the teacher's familiarity and contact with the child were significant predictors of agreement for both the internalizing and externalizing scales. Agreement on the externalizing ratings was also influenced by several other factors, including the child's age and religion, the parent informant's gender and education, as well as school grade. Predictors of agreement on the total score included the child's age and gender, factors related to the child's academic functioning and need for treatment as perceived by the parent, and the parent's and teacher's preference for different mental health treatment providers. Copyright © 1998 Whurr Publishers Ltd.