The Equivalence of the Child Behavior Checklist/1 ½-5 Across Parent Race/Ethnicity, Income Level, and Language

• Published in: Psychological assessment 2006-09, Vol.18 (3), p.313-323
• Main Authors: Gross, Deborah, Fogg, Louis, Young, Michael, Ridge, Alison, Cowell, Julia Muennich, Richardson, Reginald, Sivan, Abigail
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• ISSN: 1040-3590; 1939-134X
• DOI: 10.1037/1040-3590.18.3.313

This study examined the equivalence of the Child Behavior Checklist/1½-5 (CBCL/1½-5) in 682 parents of 2- to 4-year-old children stratified by parent race/ethnicity (African American, Latino, and non-Latino White), family income (low vs. middle-upper), and language version (Spanish vs. English). Externalizing Scale means differed by income and child gender. Internalizing Scale means differed by income and parent race/ethnicity. Differential item analyses showed that few items functioned differently by racial/ethnic, language, and income group. A confirmatory factor analysis demonstrated that the Externalizing Scale provided a good fit with the data across racial/ethnic and income groups. However, model fit was improved for the Internalizing Scale when factor weights were allowed to vary. Findings support the equivalence of the CBCL/1½-5 when used with parents of low-income preschool children from African American and Latino backgrounds, although further study of the factor structure for the Internalizing Scale is recommended.