Validity of the DSM-Oriented scales of the Child Behavior Checklist and Youth Self-Report.

Background: The school-age versions of the ASEBA (Achenbach System of Empirically Based Assessment) incorporate the DSM-Oriented scales. These scales make it possible to quantify and normalize problems defined in the DSM. The objective was to study the incremental validity of the DSM-Oriented scales of the ASEBA inventories, the Child Behavior Checklist - CBCL, completed by parents of children aged 6-18 years, and the Youth Self-Report -YSR, a self-report for children/adolescents aged 11-18, over: (a) scores on the Syndromes Scales for making DSM-IV diagnoses; and (b) diagnoses obtained with structured interviews for the assessment of functioning.

Methods: A clinical sample of 420 children and adolescents (8-17 years) was assessed with the CBCL, and 108 adolescents were assessed with the CBCL and YSR questionnaires. All underwent a diagnostic interview, and interviewers completed a measure of global functional impairment.

Results: The DSM-Oriented scales showed significant incremental validity in conjunction with the Empirical Syndrome scales for discriminating DSM-IV diagnoses, and considerable incremental validity in conjunction with the diagnoses obtained through the diagnostic interview for predicting the level of functional impairment.

Conclusions: DSM-Oriented scales should be considered simultaneously with the Syndrome Scales of the ASEBA taxonomy, as they provide useful additional information in the clinical process.