Behavioral and emotional characteristics of abused children : Cross-informant assessment

The purpose of the present research was to utilize the Youth Self Report (YSR) and the Child Behavior Checklist (CBCL) to identify behavioral and emotional characteristics of abused children, and to explore the possibility of clinical application of these instruments. The behavior of children in a children's home was assessed through the Youth Self Report, which was completed by the children themselves, and the Child Behavior Checklist, which was completed by care workers. Valid responses were obtained for 75 boys and 49 girls, whose average age was 12.51 years. Responses on the Youth Self Report and the Child Behavior Checklist were found to be correlated with respect to scores for behavioral problems, but it was also found that differences may exist in the perception of competence. When the data from the children who had and had not been abused were compared, it was found that both instruments revealed that maltreatment of the children had affected their behavioral and emotional problems. It was also found that the care workers objectively grasped social problems and attention problems in a way that may have been difficult for the children to discern. Furthermore, subjective issues, such as somatic complaints and thinking problems, were difficult to perceive. It was suggested that behavioral and emotional problems of abused children may be understood better through cross-informant assessment.