This study describes the design and psychometric characteristics of the Shortform Assessment for Children (SAC). The SAC is an efficient and easy-to-use tool for monitoring the overall mental health and psychosocial functioning of children age 5 to 18 who are served by child welfare and juvenile justice systems. The one-page 48-item instrument was developed with the support of the National Institute of Mental Health to describe internalizing (withdrawn, anxious, depressed) and externalizing (aggressive, antisocial, violent) profiles of children in both home/residential and school/classroom settings. Psychometric data supporting the reliability and validity of the SAC are presented for a sample of 3,790 children served by one state’s child welfare and juvenile justice system.
Get full access to this article
View all access options for this article.
References
1.
Achenbach, T. M. (1991a). Integrative guide for the 1991 CBCL/4-18, YSR, and TRF profiles. Burlington: University of Vermont, Department of Psychiatry.
2.
Achenbach, T. M. (1991b). Manual for the Child Behavior Checklist/4-18 and 1991 profile. Burlington: University of Vermont, Department of Psychiatry.
3.
Achenbach, T. M. (1991c). Manual for the Teacher’s Report Form and 1991 profile. Burlington: University of Vermont, Department of Psychiatry.
4.
Achenbach, T. M., Howell, C. T., McConaughy, S. H., & Stanger, C. (1995a). Six-year predictors of problems in a national sample: III. Transitions to young adult syndromes. Journal of the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychology, 34(5), 658-669.
5.
Achenbach, T. M., Howell, C. T., McConaughy, S. H., & Stanger, C. (1995b). Six-year predictors of problems in a national sample of children and youth: I. Cross-informant syndromes. Journal of the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, 34(3), 336-347.
6.
Achenbach, T. M., Howell, C. T., McConaughy, S. H., & Stanger, C. (1995c). Six-year predictors of problems in a national sample of children and youth: II. Signs of disturbance. Journal of the American Academy on Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, 34(4), 488-498.
7.
Achenbach, T. M., McConaughy, S. H., & Howell, C. T. (1987). Child/adolescent behavioral and emotional problems: Implications of cross-informant correlations for situational specificity. Psychological Bulletin, 101(2), 213-232.
8.
American Psychiatric Association. (1994). Diagnostic and statistical manual of mental disorders (4th ed.). Washington, DC: Author.
9.
Angold, A., Costello, E. J., & Erkanli, A. (1999). Comorbidity. Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry, 40(1), 57-87.
10.
Biederman, J., Keenan, K., & Faraone, S. V. (1990). Parent-based diagnosis of attention deficit disorder predicts a diagnosis based on teacher report. Journal of the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, 29(5), 698-701.
11.
Browne, M. W., & Cudeck, R. (1993). Alternative ways of assessing model fit. In K. A. Bollen & J. S. Long (Eds.), Testing structural equation models (pp. 136-162). Newbury Park, CA: Sage.
12.
Byrne, B. M. (1998). Structural equation modeling with LISREL, PRELIS, and SIMPLIS: Basic concepts, applications, and programming. Mahwah, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum.
13.
Cantwell, D. P. (1996). Classification of child and adolescent psychopathology. Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry, 37(1), 3-12.
14.
Casat, C. D., Norton, H. J., & Boyle-Whitesel, M. B. (1999). Identification of elementary school children at risk for disruptive behavioral disturbance: Validation of a combined screening method. Journal of American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, 38(10), 1246-1253.
15.
Dedrick, R. F., Greenbaum, P. E., Friedman, R. M., Wetherington, C. M., & Knoff, H. M. (1997). Testing the structure of the Child Behavior Checklist/4-18 using confirmatory factor analysis. Educational and Psychological Measurement, 57(2), 306-313.
16.
Fischer, J., & Corcoran, K. (1994). Measures for clinical practice: A sourcebook. 2nd edition, Vol. 1. Couples, families, and children. New York: Free Press.
17.
Garland, A. F., Landsverk, J. L., Hough, R. L., & Ellis-MacLeod, E. (1996). Type of maltreatment as a predictor of mental health service use for children in foster care. Child Abuse and Neglect, 20(8), 675-688.
18.
Glisson, C. (1994). The effect of services coordination teams on outcomes for children in state custody. Administration in Social Work, 18(4), 1-23.
19.
Glisson, C. (1996). Judicial and service decisions for children entering state custody: The limited role of mental health. Social Service Review, 70(2), 257-281.
20.
Glisson, C., Bailey, J. W., & Post, J. A. (2000). Predicting the time children spend in state custody. Social Service Review, 74(2), 253-280.
21.
Goodman, R., & Scott, S. (1999). Comparing the Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire and the Child Behavior Checklist: Is small beautiful?Journal of Abnormal Child Psychology, 27(1), 17-24.
22.
Greenbaum, P. E., & Dedrick, R. F. (1998). Hierarchical confirmatory factor analysis of the Child Behavior Checklist/4-18. Psychological Assessment, 10(2), 149-155.
23.
Greenbaum, P. E., Dedrick, R. F., Prange, M. E., & Friedman, R. M. (1994). Parent, teacher, and child ratings of problem behaviors of youngsters with serious emotional disturbances. Psychological Assessment, 6(2), 141-148.
24.
Halfon, N., Berkowitz, G., & Klee, L. (1992). Mental health service utilization by children in foster care in California. Pediatrics, 89(6), 1238-1244.
25.
Halfon, N., Mendonca, A., & Berkowitz, G. (1995). Health status of children in foster care. Archives of Pediatric and Adolescent Medicine, 149, 386-392.
26.
Handwerk, M. L., Larzelere, R. E., Soper, S. H., & Friman, P. C. (1999). Parent and child discrepancies in reporting severity of problem behaviors in three out-of-home settings. Psychological Assessment, 11(1), 14-23.
27.
Hart, E. L., Lahey, B. B., Loeber, R., & Hanson, K. S. (1994). Criterion validity of informants in the diagnosis of disruptive behavior disorders in children: A preliminary study. Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology, 62(2), 410-414.
28.
Hartman, C. A., Hox, J., Auerbach, J., Erol, N., Fonseca, A. C., Mellenbergh, G. J., Novik, T. S., Oasterlaan, J., Roussos, A. C., Shalev, R. S., Zilber, N., & Sergeant, J. A. (1999). Syndrome dimensions of the Child Behavior Checklist and the Teacher Report Form: A critical empirical evaluation. Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry, 40(7), 1095-1116.
29.
Hewitt, L. E., & Jenkins, R. L. (1946). Fundamental patterns of maladjustment: The dynamics of their origin. Springfield: State of Illinois.
30.
Hu, L., & Bentler, P. M. (1999). Cutoff criteria for fit indexes in covariance structure analysis: Conventional criteria versus new alternatives. Structural Equation Modeling, 6(1), 1-55.
31.
Jensen, P. S., Watanabe, H. K., Richters, J. E., Roper, M., Hibbs, E. D., Salzberg, A. D., & Liu, S. (1996). Scales, diagnoses, and child psychopathology: II. Comparing the CBCL and the DISC against external validators. Journal of Abnormal Child Psychology, 24(2), 151-168.
32.
Jöreskog, K. G., & Sörbom, D. (1993). LISREL 8 user’s reference guide. Chicago: Scientific Software International.
33.
Kasius, M. C., Ferdinand, R. F., van de Berg, H., & Verhulst, F. C. (1997). Associations between different diagnostic approaches for child and adolescent psychopathology. Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry, 38(6), 625-632.
34.
Kolko, D. J., & Kazdin, A. E. (1993). Emotional/behavioral problems in clinic and nonclinic children: Correspondence among child, parent and teacher reports. Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry, 34(6), 991-1006.
35.
Koot, H. M., & Verhulst, F. C. (1992). Prediction of children’s referral to mental health and special education services from earlier adjustment. Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry and Allied Disciplines, 33(4), 717-729.
36.
Laitinen-Krispijn, S., van der Ende, J., Wierdsma, A. I., & Verhulst, F. C. (1999). Predicting adolescent mental health service use in a prospective record-linkage study. Journal of the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, 38(9), 1073-1080.
37.
Leaf, P. J., Alegria, M., Cohen, P., Goodman, S. H., Horwitz, S. M., Hoven, C. W., Narrow, W. E., Vaden-Kiernan, M., & Regier, D. A. (1996). Mental health service use in the community and schools: Results from the four-community MECA Study. Journal of the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, 35(7), 889-897.
38.
Litrownik, A. J., Taussig, H. N., Landsverk, J. A., & Garland, A. F. (1999). Youth entering an emergency shelter care facility: Prior involvement in juvenile justice and mental health systems. Journal of Social Service Research, 25(3), 5-19.
39.
Loeber, R., Green, S. M., Lahey, B. B., & Stouthamer-Loeber, M. (1991). Differences and similarities between children, mothers, and teachers as informants on disruptive child behavior. Journal of Abnormal Child Psychology, 19(1), 75-95.
40.
Loeber, R., Stouthamer-Loeber, M., & White, H. R. (1999). Developmental aspects of delinquency and internalizing problems and their association with persistent juvenile substance use between ages 7 and 18. Journal of Clinical Child Psychology, 28(3), 322-332.
41.
Lyons, J. S., Libman-Mintzer, L. N., Kisiel, C. L., & Shallcross, H. (1998). Understanding the mental health needs of children and adolescents in residential treatment. Professional Psychology: Research and Practice, 29(6), 582-587.
42.
MacCallum, R. C., Browne, M. W., & Sugawara, H. M. (1996). Power analysis and determination of sample size for covariance structure modeling. Psychological Methods, 1, 130-149.
43.
Martin, L. M., Peters, C. L., & Glisson, C. (1998). Factors affecting case management recommendations for children entering state custody. Social Service Review, 72(4), 521-544.
44.
Mattison, R. E., & Spitznagel, E. L. (1999). Long-term stability of Child Behavior Checklist profile types in a child psychiatric clinic population. Journal of the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, 38(6), 700-707.
45.
McIntyre, A., & Keesler, T. Y. (1986). Psychological disorders among foster children. Journal of Clinical Child Psychology, 15(4), 297-303.
46.
McMahon, R. J. (1994). Diagnosis, assessment, and treatment of externalizing problems in children: The role of longitudinal data. Special Section: Childhood psychopathology. Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology, 62(5), 901-917.
47.
Nugent, W. R. & Glisson, C. (1999). Reactivity and responsiveness in children’s service systems. Journal of Social Service Research, 25(3), 41-60.
48.
Ollendick, T. H., & King, N. J. (1994). Diagnosis, assessment, and treatment of internalizing problems in children: The role of longitudinal data. Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology, 62(5), 918-927.
49.
Phillips, J. (1997). Meeting the psychiatric needs of children in foster care. Psychiatric Bulletin, 21, 609-611.
50.
Piacentini, J. C., Cohen, P., & Cohen, J. (1992). Combining discrepant diagnostic information from multiple sources: Are complex algorithms better than simple ones?Journal of Abnormal Child Psychology, 20(1), 51-63.
51.
Pumeriega, A. J., & Glover, S. (1998). New developments in services’ delivery research for children, adolescents and their families. Advances in Clinical Child Psychology, 20, 303-343.
52.
Schneiderman, M., Connors, M. M., Fribourg, A., Gries, L., & Gonzales, M. (1998). Mental health services for children in out-of-home care. Child Welfare, 77(1), 29-40.
53.
Sonuga-Barke, E.J.S. (1998). Categorical models of childhood disorder: A conceptual and empirical analysis. Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry, 39(1), 115-133.
54.
Stiffman, A. R., Chen, Y., Elze, D., Dore, P., & Cheng, L. (1997). Adolescents’ and providers’ perspectives on the need for and use of mental health services. Journal of Adolescent Health, 21(5), 334-342.
55.
Thompson, A. H., & Fuhr, D. (1992). Emotional disturbance in fifty children in the care of a child welfare system. Journal of Social Service Research, 15(3/4), 95-112.
56.
Trupin, E. W., Tarico, V. S., Low, B. P., Jemelka, R., & McClellan, J. (1993). Children on child protective service caseloads: Prevalence and nature of serious emotional disturbance. Child Abuse and Neglect, 17(3), 345-355.
57.
Verhulst, F. C., & van der Ende, J. (1992). 6-year developmental course of internalizing and externalizing problem behaviors. Journal of the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, 31(5), 924-931.
58.
Visser, J. H., van der Ende, J., Koot, H. M., & Verhulst, F. C. (1999). Continuity of psychopathology in youths referred to mental health services. Journal of the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, 38(12), 1560-1568.
59.
Wittenborn, J. R., & Holzberg, J. D. (1951). The generality of psychiatric syndromes. Journal of Consulting Psychology, 15, 372-380.
