Assessing internalizing disorders and sleep in school‐age children: A new parent report Behavioral Health Screen

• Published in: Psychology in the schools 2023-10, Vol.60 (10), p.3896-3919
• Main Authors: Ruan‐Iu, Linda, Winston‐Lindeboom, Payne, Rivers, Alannah Shelby, Atte, Tita, Tien, Allen
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Accuracy; Adjustment (to Environment); Age differences; anxiety; Children; Clinical assessment; Cultural Influences; depression; Discriminant validity; Discrimination; Education groups; Evaluation; Health behavior; Health problems; Internalization; Internalizing disorders; Item Response Theory; measure validation; Measurement; Measures (Individuals); Medical personnel; Medical screening; Mental health; Mental health professionals; Parents; Psychological assessment; Quantitative psychology; Race; school screening; Schools; Screening Tests; Self Concept; Sleep; Sleep disorders; Validity; Values
• ISSN: 0033-3085; 1520-6807
• DOI: 10.1002/pits.22961

Depression, anxiety, and sleep disturbance are common among school‐age children and can impair functioning. Schools are in a unique position to assess and refer these children for intervention services, but standardized screening is underutilized. One challenge with screening is the lack of psychometrically strong mental health screening tools that can be efficiently and effectively administered in school settings. The Behavioral Health Works program provides a web‐based platform and a multidimensional screening tool (the Behavioral Health Screen [BHS]) that can help overcome implementation barriers. Because parents have unique, valuable perspectives on reporting the mental health concerns of their children, a parent report version for younger children was developed. This study examines the psychometric properties of the internalizing and sleep scales of the BHS parent report version for assessing children (BHS‐PRC). Participants included 420 parents of children ages 6–12, who completed the BHS‐PRC. Results supported evidence of good internal structure, partial measurement equivalence (across race, gender, age, and education groups), discrimination in item response theory analysis, classification accuracy, and convergent and discriminant validity. Overall, the BHS‐PRC demonstrates strong psychometric characteristics and has the potential to assist schools' mental health screening as part of a multitiered system of support. Practitioner points The Behavioral Health Screen (BHS) parent report demonstrates evidence of strong psychometric properties, offering school mental health professionals a tool for assessing sleep and internalizing symptoms. The BHS parent report has the potential to assist schools' mental health screening. There were some differences in internalizing and sleep concerns across groups.