Abstracts

RATIONALE: The assessment of youth behavior problems can be problematic when there is lack of consistency between raters. The purpose of this study was to investigate the degree of agreement in ratings of youth behavior across four groups: mothers, fathers, teachers and youth. Mothers' scores were treated as the standard. METHODS: The sample consisted of 121 adolescents. Approximately 60% of the fathers participated. Each respondent rated the youth's behavior on 11 factors using a standardized behavioral checklist (i.e., Child Behavior Checklist, Youth Self-Report, and Teacher's Report Form). Data were analyzed using t-test, Pearson's correlation, and kappa coefficient to determine (a) if mother's ratings differed from youth, teacher, and father ratings and (b) if ratings varied based on child gender or level of seizure control. RESULTS: There was relatively strong agreement for the Total, Internalilzing and Externalizing scores (r=.35 - .59). Mother's ratings tended to be highest and youth ratings tended to be lowest. Agreement in ratings did not differ, however, based on child gender or level of seizure control. CONCLUSIONS: Higher scores for mothers and lower scores for youth are consistent with findings in general population studies. Clinically, we recommend using a lower cutoff for youth than for mother ratings when categorizing youth at risk for behavior problems. (Supported by NS22416)