Screening and Assessment Tools for Child Welfare

Assessment Rating:

A
A Reliability and Validity Demonstrated See entire scale

Child Behavior Checklist for Ages 6-18 (CBCL/6-18)

Developer(s): Thomas M. Achenbach, PhD

Description / Purpose:
The Child Behavior Checklist (CBCL) obtains reports from parents, other close relatives, and/or guardians regarding children's competencies and behavioral/emotional problems. Parents provide information for 20 competence items covering their child's activities, social relations, and school performance. The CBCL/6-18 has 118 items that describe specific behavioral and emotional problems, plus two open-ended items for reporting additional problems. Parents rate their child for how true each item is now or within the past 6 months using the following scale: 0 = not true (as far as you know); 1 = somewhat or sometimes true; 2 = very true or often true. Target Population: Children between the ages of 6 and 18. The pre-2001 version was for ages 4-18. A version of the CBCL is also available for children ages 1 to 5 years of age. Intended Users: Clinicians and service providers needing to screen for child problem behaviors and emotional difficulties and examine change in behaviors over time. Time to Administer: 15 minutes. Completed By: Parents, caregivers, or other individuals who know the child well. Teacher Report Forms, Youth Self-Reports, and Direct Observation Forms are also available for the Child Behavior Checklist. Modalities Available: Paper and pencil, on-line through Web Link. Scannable forms are available. Scoring Information: Scoring information is contained in the CBCL manual, available through the publisher, and can be done by hand. The Assessment Data Manager (ADM), a computerized scoring program that can be purchased separately, is also available for scoring. Languages Available: English, Spanish Training Requirements for Intended Users: No special qualifications are needed for administering these forms, beyond the tact and sensitivity that are necessary in all dealings with parents, teachers, caregivers, youths, and others. For interpretation of the CBCL, graduate training of at least the Master's degree level would ordinarily be expected, along with knowledge of the theory and methodology of standardized assessment, as well as supervised training in working with the relevant kinds of clients. Availability: The CBCL, accompanying manual, and scoring materials may be purchased through the Achenbach System of Empirically Based Assessment (ASEBA) at www.aseba.org.

Contact Information

Company: ASEBA (Achenbach System of Empirically Based Assessment) Website: www.aseba.org Email: mail@aseba.org Phone: (802) 656-5130 Fax: (802) 656-5131

Summary of Relevant Psychometric Research

This assessment has received the Assessment Rating of "A Reliability and Validity Demonstrated" based on the published, peer-reviewed research available. The assessment must have 2 or more published, peer-reviewed studies that demonstrated that the measure is reliable and valid. Please see the Assessment Rating Scale for more information.