CHILD BEHAVIORS CHECKLIST

• The Child Behavior Checklist (CBCL) is

widely used questionnaire to assess Behavior
& Emotional problems.
 Purpose of Administration

• CBCL is used to create a profile that gives the clinician an overall

picture of the variety and degree of the child behavioral problem.
• CBCL is supposed to obtain information based on the directed
observations of parents on their children’s social behaviors and
social competencies.
• The observations of the parents or primary caregiver will be
treated and interpreted using the Likert Scale so that problematic
behaviors can be defined empirically.
 Background
• The Achenbach System of Empirically Based Assessment (ASEBA)
offers a comprehensive approach to assessing adaptive and maladaptive
functioning.
• Thomas M. Achenbach, Ph.D. developed the CBCL in 1966.
• Items were created and tested through nine pilot editions from 1970
through 1976.
• In 1978 Achenbach and Edelbrock published CBCL findings and also
included scales designed to measure competencies.
 Forms Available
• Child • Child
• Teacher’s •Youth Self
Behavior Behavior
Report Form Report (11-18)
Checklist for Checklist for
(5-18)
Ages 4-16 Ages (1.5-5)

•Adult Report •Direct

Form (18-59) •Older Adults Observation
Report (60-90) Form
 Upgraded Versions of CBCL
Child Behavior Checklist for Ages (1 ½-5)

Child Behavior Checklist for Ages (6-18)

Semi-structured Clinical Interview For Children And Adolescents Ages (6-18) Protocol
Form

Semi-structured Clinical Interview- Observation Form

Language Development Survey For Ages (18-35 months)

School Protocol Checklist

https://aseba.org/
• Social competence scale & Behavioral problem
• Other versions are based on this one.
• Checklist is filled by parents or any caregiver that know the child best.
• 20 items social competence scale covers;
o Activities
o Social
o School
• 118 problem items: 2 open ended questions
• 3 point Likert Scale
• Age range: 1.5-90 years
Child Behavior Checklist for
Ages 4-16
• 2 broad band scales: internalizing and
externalizing
• 9 narrow band syndrome scales
o Schizoid or Anxious
o Depressed
o Uncommunicative
o Obsessive compulsive
o Somatic complaints
o Withdrawal
o Hyperactive
o Aggressive
o Delinquent
 • CBCL/2-3 was published in 1992.
• 99 behavioral items & 1 open ended question
• 59 items counterparts of CBCL/4-16.
Child Behavior
• Remaining items specifically for younger age
Checklist for • 2 broad band scales: internalizing and externalizing
• 6 narrow band syndrome scales
Ages 2-3 o Social Withdrawal
o Depressed
o Sleep problems
o Somatic problems
o Aggressive
o Destructive
 Teacher’s Report Form (5-18)
• School performances
Rate 5 point Likert scale; (1 far below grade & 5 being far above grade) for each
academic subject.
• Adaptive functioning
Teacher rate children on 7 point scales in four areas (1 being the much less & 7
much more).
• Teacher rate the child on 118 specific problem items, plus two open-ended items (113
& 56 a-h).
• Using 0-1-2 scale for how true the item is of the child now or within the past 2 months.
• 93 items are counterparts of CBCL(4-16), remaining address
school behaviors that parents would not observe(e.g; difficulty
following directions, disciplines).
• 2 broad band scales: internalizing and externalizing
• 8 narrow band syndrome scales
o Social withdrawal
o Anxious
o Unpopular
o Self destructive
o Obsessive- compulsive
o Inattentive
o Nervous/over reactive
o Aggressive
• Achenbach & Edelborck, 1987.
Youth Self Report (11-18)
• Social competence & Behavioral/ Emotional

problems

• Mental age 10 year & 5 grade reading skills are

required

• Most of the same competence & problem items as

the CBCL (4-16).

• For each item, circle 2 if the item is very true or

often true, circle 1 if item is somewhat true or

sometimes true and circle 0 is item is not true.

 Direct Observation Form (5-14)
• 10 minute observation (3-6 occasions)
• 96 specific problem items & 1 open ended item
• Each item is rated on 0-1-2-3 scale.
• 2 broad band scales: internalizing and externalizing
• 6 narrow band syndrome scales
o Withdrawal-inattentive
o Nervous-obsessive
o Depressive
o Hyperactive
o Attention demanding
o Aggressive
 Administration
• Modes of administration: The CBCL is designed to be completed
independently by the caregiver or teacher depending upon the form.
• The form can also be administered orally by an interviewer who records
the caregiver’s answers.
• If the child’s age is 2-3 years it should be clearly mentioned to parents
that for each items describe the child now or within the past 2 months.
• If the child’s age is between 4-16, parents are to describe child now or
within the past 6 months.
• It takes approximately 15-17 minutes.

• Translated in 24 languages
 Scoring
Scoring norms separate for ages and sex.
2 versions are available for scoring:
• Hand scoring
• Computer scoring
T scores and percentiles are computed
Profile is established on computed scores
 ❑ For individual items, interclass
Reliability correlation (ICC) were computed.
All ICC’s were in the 0.90’s .
❑ The ICC for 3-month stability of
mother’s rating was: 0.838 for
behavior problems and
❑ 0.974 for social competence
items.
❑ Median Pearson correlation
between mother's and father’s
rating was 0.66.
 ❑ Test-retest correlations for
inpatient's scores over a 3 month
Reliability period averaged 0.74 for parent’s
ratings and 0.73 for child care
worker’s ratings of behavior
problems.
❑ Test-retest correlations for
outpatient’s scores a over 6 month
period were in the 0.60s for both
behavior and competence scores.
❑ Over an 18-month period, mean
correlations ranged from 0.46 to
0.76
 validity
❖ Significant correlation with
other behavior rating scale
provide evidence of
construct validity.
❖ Content and criterion related
validity was also established.
• CBCL measures factors such as anxiety,
depression, somatic complaints, hyperactivity,
Applications
aggressiveness, sexual & delinquent behavior.
• Test reflects whether or not a child's level of behavior falls
into the clinical range for children of the same age & gender.
• Multiaxial empirically based assessment (MEBA) employs
multiple sources relevant to most children.
• Comprehensive assessment of children requires multiple
sources, such as parents, teachers, clinicians, observers &
children themselves.
• The profile can contribute formal diagnosis by showing the
degree of a child's deviance in behavior.
• profile can guide decisions about the target of intervention.
• CBCL can be used in mental health, services, school, medical
setting, forensic evaluation, residential treatment center &
research purposes.
 Strengths
• Supported by extensive empirical
analyses as accurate measure of
problematic child functioning
• Accurately discriminates clinic referred
vs. non-referred children.
• Good norms: normative samples were
large and diverse. Scoring norms separate
for ages and sex.
• Strong psychometric properties
 References
Achenbach, T. M., & Edelbrock, C. S. (1983). Manual for the child
behavior checklist and revised child behavior profile.
Rescorla, L. A., Achenbach, T. M., Ivanova, M. Y., Bilenberg, N.,
Bjarnadottir, G., Denner, S., ... & Gonçalves, M. (2012).
Behavioral/emotional problems of preschoolers: Caregiver/teacher
reports from 15 societies. Journal of Emotional and Behavioral
Disorders, 20(2), 68-81.
Achenbach, T. M., & Ruffle, T. M. (2000). The Child Behavior
Checklist and related forms for assessing behavioral/emotional
problems and competencies. Pediatrics in review, 21(8),
265-271.