The Child Behavior Checklist (CBCL) is used to assess the behavioral problems and social competencies of children. Its broad usage in both practitioner and research contexts has led to misapplications as compared to the CBCL's original intended purpose. In addition, the composition of the normative sample presents particular difficulties for establishing validity across different groups. Given the broad use of the CBCL and its potential validity biases, this study assessed its construct validity for African American children to determine whether the CBCL provides assistance in their diagnosis and treatment. Factor analysis was used to determine the underlying factor structure of the CBCL profiles. Factor structures derived were compared through RELATE, a Kaiser factor matching estimation program. Subjects were 2,971 children aged 6 to 16 coming to a child guidance center in a northeastern Ohio city. Slightly more than half of the sample (56%) was male. Of these students, 677 (23%) were black. Data did not support the claim that there is a difference in total behavior problem scores between African American and white children except for the group of girls aged 6 to 11, in which scores of black and white girls were different. Total social competence scores were similar for black and white children aged 6 to 11 or aged 12 to 16. Data provided no evidence to support the claim that factor structures are different for blacks and whites. Test results support the construct validity of the CBCL for black children. An appendix contains the CBCL. (Contains 14 tables and 28 references.) (SLD)