J Korean Pediatr Soc.  1994 Sep;37(9):1273-1278.

A Clinical Study on a Behavior Screening Scale

• Lee K

Abstract

A scale to screen children's behavior was developed to be used by pediatrician before examining the children brought to them for possible behavioral or developmental problems. The scale consisted of 2 parts. In the first part, there were 15 subjective questions about children's behavior and development which parents can answer in short sentences and in the second part, there were 36 behavioral items with answers in 1 to 7 grades and "yes" or "no", depending whether the each behavior caused any problem to parents. Concern score was the sum of answers of 15 subjective questions, intensity sore the sum of answers of 36 items and problem score the sum of the answers whether the behavior was a problem to parent or not. From July, 992 to October, 1993, the mothers who brought their children to the department of pediatrics of Ewha Woman's University Hospital with concern of children's behavior or development were asked to fill out the questionnaire before seeing the pediatrician. "Problem" children who were diagnosed to have one of behavioral or developmental disorders were 168 and control children in well baby clinical or with acute pediatric problems were 121 in numbers. The results were as follow: @WN 1) Diagnoses of "problem" children were, in order of frequency, infantile autism, mental retardation, developmental language disorder, Asperger's syndrome and attention deficit hyperactivity disorder. 2) All of concern, intensity and problem scores were significantly higher in "problem" children compared with those of control. 3) Specificities of concern of concern, intensity and problem scores were high but only concern sore had high sensitivity, specificity, positive prodictive value and negative predictive value. 4) Concern score can be used in screening "problem" children with score 7 as cut-off point. In conclusion, in this behavioral scale, concern score which reflect subjective view of parents on children's behavior and development can be used in screening of children with behavioral and developmental problems.

MeSH Terms

Asperger Syndrome
Attention Deficit Disorder with Hyperactivity
Autistic Disorder
Child
Diagnosis
Humans
Intellectual Disability
Language Development Disorders
Mass Screening*
Mothers
Parents
Pediatrics
Surveys and Questionnaires
Sensitivity and Specificity