Conduct Problems Scale

Abstract: This study developed and validated the Youth Conduct Problems Scale-Rwanda (YCPS-R). Qualitative free listing (n = 74) and key informant interviews (n = 47) identified local conduct problems, which were compared to existing standardized conduct problem scales and used to develop the YCPS-R. The YCPS-R was cognitive tested by 12 youth and caregiver participants, and assessed for test-retest and inter-rater reliability in a sample of 64 youth. Finally, a purposive sample of 389 youth and their caregivers were enrolled in a validity study. Validity was assessed by comparing YCPS-R scores to conduct disorder, which was diagnosed with the Mini International Neuropsychiatric Interview for Children, and functional impairment scores on the World Health Organization Disability Assessment Schedule Child Version. ROC analyses assessed the YCPS-R's ability to discriminate between youth with and without conduct disorder. Qualitative data identified a local presentation of youth conduct problems that did not match previously standardized measures. Therefore, the YCPS-R was developed solely from local conduct problems. Cognitive testing indicated that the YCPS-R was understandable and required little modification. The YCPS-R demonstrated good reliability, construct, criterion, and discriminant validity, and fair classification accuracy. The YCPS-R is a locally-derived measure of Rwandan youth conduct problems that demonstrated good psychometric properties and could be used for further research.

Abstract: Background In adults with antisocial personality disorder, marked alterations in the recognition of facial affect were described Less consistent data are available on the emotion recognition in adolescents with externalization problems The aim of the present study was to assess the relation between the recognition of emotions and conduct symptoms in adolescent boys with externalization problems Methods Adolescent boys with externalization problems referred to Vadaskert Child Psychiatry Hospital participated in the study after informed consent (, 11–17 years, mean = 134) The conduct problems scale of the strengths and difficulties questionnaire (parent and self-report) was used The performance in a facial emotion recognition test was assessed Results Conduct problems score (parent and self-report) was inversely correlated with the overall emotion recognition In the self-report, conduct problems score was inversely correlated with the recognition of anger, fear, and sadness Adolescents with high conduct problems scores were significantly worse in the recognition of fear, sadness, and overall recognition than adolescents with low conduct scores, irrespective of age and IQ Conclusions Our results suggest that impaired emotion recognition is dimensionally related to conduct problems and might have importance in the development of antisocial behavior

Abstract: Reduced amplitude of the P300 event-related potential has been consistently associated with a variety of externalising problems, including conduct disorder. The few available genetically-informative studies of these relationships, however, were conducted among adolescents/adults (i.e., at an age when conduct disorder has typically already become manifest). Among 200 general population twins with a mean age of 9 years (range 6–14 years), we studied the relationship between the P300 waveform elicited by an auditory oddball task and the DSM-oriented conduct problems scale of the Child Behavior Checklist 6–18. Conduct problems scores were negatively and significantly correlated (r = −0.19, p = 0.01) with P300 amplitude; correlations between P300 amplitude and the other DSM-oriented Child Behavior Checklist scales were non-significant, except for oppositional defiant problems (p = 0.01). We found moderate heritability estimates for both P300 amplitude (0.58, CI:0.37;0.73) and conduct problems (0.52, CI:0.25;0.70). Bivariate twin analyses indicated that the covariation between these two phenotypes can be explained by additive genetic factors only, with a genetic correlation of −0.33. An association between reduced P300 amplitude and conduct problems can be substantiated already in childhood, at an age that precedes the most typical onset of conduct disorder. This relationship appears to be genetic in nature. Reduced P300 amplitude can represent a valuable marker for conduct problems, and can contribute to the early identification of children at high-risk for conduct disorder.

Abstract: Conduct problems are manifested in children’s outward behavior and reflect the child acting negatively toward the external environment (Campbell, Shaw, & Gilliom, 2000). These behaviors include (but are not limited to) fighting, stealing, and breaking rules. Prospective studies have demonstrated that childhood conduct problems can predict juvenile delinquency and other negative outcomes in young adulthood (Farrington, 1991; Loeber & Hay, 1997; Moffitt, 1993). For example, teacher reports of conduct problems from boys at age 8 predicted substance abuse and psychotic disorders in early adulthood (Sourander et al., 2005). Moffitt, Caspi, Harrington, and Milne (2002) showed that boys with a pattern of childhood-onset conduct problems were at increased risk for substance dependence and mental health problems relative to boys who did not exhibit conduct problems. Moreover, Petras and colleagues (2005) found that girls with early onset of conduct problems were more likely to be violent during adolescence relative to girls without conduct problems. Given that early childhood conduct problems pose a risk for negative outcomes during adolescence and young adulthood, early identification of at-risk children is critical (Lochman & Conduct Problems Prevention Research Group, 1995). Due to the time, organizational, and resource constraints existing in most schools, standard practice is to use a cross-sectional teacher assessment to identify at-risk children. One commonly used tool in identifying childhood conduct problems is the 10-item Authority Acceptance scale from the Teacher Observation of Classroom Adaptation-Revised (AA-TOCA-R; Werthamer-Larsson, Kellam, & Wheeler, 1991), a measure designed so that teachers could rate their students’ conduct problem behaviors in the classroom. Teacher ratings on the AA-TOCA-R have predicted later sexual activity and substance abuse (Bradshaw, Schaeffer, Petras, & Ialongo, 2010), violence among adolescents (Petras, Chilcoat, Leaf, Ialongo, & Kellam, 2004), criminality in young adults (Schaeffer, Petras, Ialongo, Poduska, & Kellam, 2003), poor academic performance, and prosocial skill deficits (Flanagan, Bierman, Kam, & Conduct Problems Prevention Research Group, 2003). These results lend support for the utility of the AA-TOCA-R in identifying children at risk for later conduct problems. Koth, Bradshaw, and Leaf (2009) found evidence for unidimensionality in the factor structure of the AA-TOCA-R and showed that among kindergarteners, boys had a higher overall mean than girls and Blacks had a higher overall mean than Whites (higher score = more frequent conduct problems). However, little other research has been conducted on the psychometric properties of the AA-TOCA-R. In particular, it is unknown whether the AA-TOCA-R, which has the potential to be widely deployed to thousands of classrooms as a potential screening device for high-risk children, exhibits scalar equivalence across different subgroups (e.g., gender or ethnicity). Scalar equivalence is said to hold when scores on a measure represent the same levels of the construct across diverse subgroups (Van de Vijver & Leung, 1997). When the effects of subgroup factors are accumulated across items, the implications of overall scale scores can become distorted, and observed group differences may not reflect real differences at the latent level (Bolt, Hare, Vitale, & Newman, 2004). For example, if fighting is more normative among boys than girls, endorsement of an item about fighting may reflect a lower level of conduct problems for boys compared with girls. If this source of measurement noninvariance is ignored, then boys may receive spuriously higher scores on a conduct problems scale. Hence, moderate-risk boys may be over-selected for prevention programs, whereas high-risk girls may be underselected. No study to date, however, has examined the scalar equivalence of the AA-TOCA-R. Item response theory (IRT) provides an appealing framework for studying scalar equivalence (Embretson & Reise, 2000). IRT provides information regarding the performance of items with the purpose of estimating parameters that describe the relationship between each item and the latent construct that the scale intends to measure (Flora, Curran, Hussong, & Edwards, 2008). To date, there have been no studies applying IRT methods to the AA-TOCA-R. One advantage of IRT is that it can incorporate techniques for evaluating measurement invariance across subpopulations using tests of differential item functioning (DIF; Thissen, Steinberg, & Wainer, 1993). Essential to any DIF analysis is the identification of items that can be assumed to perform invariantly across sub-populations. These items contribute to defining the metric of a latent construct against which the remaining items can be examined for DIF. Items that display DIF have the potential to contribute to bias in the overall scale scores if DIF consistently favors one group across several items. In the present study, we report on an IRT analysis with over 8,800 teacher reports of classroom conduct problems among kindergarteners. Within this sample, we test for DIF across gender and race/urban status. DIF analyses across gender and race have been extensively applied to childhood substance use outcomes (Gilder, Lau, & Ehlers, 2009) and attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder symptoms (Hillemeier, Foster, Heinrichs, Heier, & Conduct Problems Prevention Research Group, 2007); however, research on DIF of the AA-TOCA-R has not been done, and only two DIF studies have been conducted on measures of conduct problems. Studts (2008) conducted a survey on a convenience sample of 900 preschool-age children recruited from waiting rooms of pediatric care facilities. Parents were asked to rate their child’s externalizing behavior problems, and the researcher tested for DIF across child gender and race. The author concluded that none of the behavior problems demonstrated DIF. Likewise, Gross and colleagues (2006) conducted differential item analysis on the Child Behavior Checklist (Achenbach, 1992) in 682 preschool-age children and also found a lack of DIF across Whites and Blacks in an urban setting. The present study, therefore, aims to examine the scalar equivalence of the AA-TOCA-R on a large school-based sample that is representative of the community across both urban and rural environments. Research has consistently shown that boys display higher overall levels of childhood conduct problems than girls (Bradshaw et al., 2010; Koth et al., 2009; Petras et al., 2005). Little is known, however, regarding gender differences in how various observed conduct problems discriminate levels of the underlying latent trait. In addition, at the same latent level of conduct problems, are there particular behaviors that are more often endorsed for boys or girls? The same question can be posed for differences across race and urban/rural status. Although these variables would ideally be analyzed separately, the nature of the present sample created a Race × Environment confound, in that less than 1% of the entire sample consisted of Blacks in rural environments. Therefore, we separated participants into three groups for the purposes of testing DIF across race/urban status: urban White children, urban Black children, and rural White children. Although Black children have been consistently shown to display higher overall levels of childhood conduct problems than White children (e.g., Jones, Dodge, Foster, Nix, & Conduct Problems Prevention Research Group, 2002; Petras et al., 2004), little is known about the scalar equivalence of conduct problems comparing White children from urban versus rural environments or across White and Black children in an urban environment. In summary, the goals of the present study were as follows: (a) to use an IRT model to examine item characteristics of the AA-TOCA-R in kindergarten children (i.e., to obtain sample-free estimates of item discrimination and difficulty) and (b) to estimate the degree of DIF by gender and race/urban status.