CLASSIFICATION OF CHILD PSYCHOPATHOLOGY - REVIEW AND ANALYSIS OF EMPIRICAL EFFORTS

Empirically-derived syndromes of child behavior problems were reviewed and those having counterparts in 2 or more studies were identified. A distinction between broad- and narrow-band syndromes seemed warranted because many syndromes derived from 1st-order factor analyses could be subsumed by a few 2nd-order factors. Broad-band Undercontrolled and Overcontrolled syndromes and narrow-band Aggressive, Delinquent, Hyperactive, Schizoid, Anxious, Depressed, Somatic and Withdrawn syndromes were found in diverse samples of disturbed children. Two other broad-band and 6 other narrow-band syndromes were found in a few studies. Test-retest reliabilities and stabilities of syndrome scores were more adequate than interrater reliabilities, which increased with the degree of similarity between the types of raters and between the types of situations in which they saw subjects. Cross-instrument and cross-population consistencies corroborated some empirically-derived syndromes, but the lack of independent criteria for categorizing disturbed children made it difficult to establish criterion-referenced validity. Because categorization of children by syndromes was limited primarily to the broad-band undercontrolled-overcontrolled dichotomy, more efforts are needed to translate syndromes into categories for use by practitioners as well as researchers. Further work in this area is likely to benefit disturbed children only if it is more systematically linked to the existing mental health system and to efforts at reforming this system.