ERIC Number: ED612054
Record Type: Non-Journal
Publication Date: 2021
Pages: 36
Abstractor: As Provided
ISBN: N/A
ISSN: N/A
EISSN: N/A
Assessing the Mental Health of Maltreated Youth with Child Welfare Involvement Using Multi-Informant Reports
Makol, Bridget A.; De Los Reyes, Andres; Garrido, Edward; Harlaar, Nicole; Taussig, Heather
Grantee Submission
Researchers often question the validity of multi-informant assessments among adolescents with child welfare involvement. Yet, within other clinical populations, prior research finds that multi-informant reports have a discernable structure characterized by discrete patterns of agreement and disagreement. This structure "tracks" contextual displays of behavior and clinical severity. We examined the structure of multi-informant reports (i.e., adolescent, caregiver, teacher) of adolescent externalizing and internalizing problems in a sample of adolescents with a history of child welfare involvement. Across problem domains and informants, reporting patterns mirrored those observed in other clinical populations, and displayed characteristics robustly present in meta-analytic work on cross-informant correspondence. Specifically, informants agreed more on reports of externalizing problems than internalizing problems and caregiver-teacher dyads agreed more than adolescent-caregiver dyads. Overall, we found robust, replicable patterns of multi-informant reports among child welfare involved adolescents. These reporting patterns may facilitate use and interpretation of multi-informant evidence-based assessments among this population. [This paper was published in "Child Psychiatry and Human Development" v52 n1 p49-62 2021.]
Descriptors: Mental Health, Child Abuse, Child Welfare, Adolescents, Behavior Problems, Caregiver Attitudes, Teacher Attitudes, Foster Care, Family Environment, At Risk Persons, Mental Disorders, Research Methodology, Sampling, Validity, Disclosure, Correlation, Environmental Influences, Place of Residence, Parents, Individual Characteristics, Check Lists, Child Behavior
Publication Type: Reports - Research
Education Level: N/A
Audience: N/A
Language: English
Sponsor: National Institute of Mental Health (DHHS/NIH); Institute of Education Sciences (ED)
Authoring Institution: N/A
Identifiers - Assessments and Surveys: Child Behavior Checklist
IES Funded: Yes
Grant or Contract Numbers: 1K01MH01972; 1R21802MH067618; 1R01MH076919; R324A180032