Parent and teacher agreement on child behavior checklist items in a sample of preschoolers from low-income and predominantly African American families

In this study we examined parent and teacher agreement at the item level of the newly revised Child Behaviour Checklist/1 1/2--5 (CBCL/1 1/2-5) and Caregiver-Teacher Report Form/1 1/2--5 (CTRF/1 1/2-5) in 505 preschool children from low-income and predominantly African American families. Parents generally rated more children as having problem behaviours than did teachers. Lack of agreement between parents and teachers at the item level was indicated by low correlation coefficients, kappa values, and co-identification of children with specific behaviour problems. High levels of parent-teacher agreement were obtained only when rank orders of problem behaviours were compared. No significant sex effect was found on parent and teacher agreement at the item level. Problem behaviours most often indicated by parents and teachers reflected the roles and responsibilities of parents and teachers in the home and school settings. Our findings suggest informant and setting specificity of parent- and teacher-identified problem behaviours in young children.