The Utility of Parents' Behavior Checklist Ratings with Developmentally Disabled Children

Abstract

The Missouri Children's Behavior Checklist ratings were obtained on 126 males and 47 females from two separate clinics for the interdisciplinary evaluation of children with suspected developmental disabilities and from 27 male and 32 female normal controls. There were no significant differences on any of the seven behavioral dimensions measured by the checklist for either the males or females from the two developmental disabilities clinics. However, the developmentally disabled children were rated significantly different than the normal control children on many of the behavioral dimensions. The findings are discussed in terms of the homogeneity of behavior of the two developmentally disabled groups and the utility of parents' behavior checklist ratings in: describing clinically relevant behavioral dimensions of developmentally disabled children; identifying behavioral differences between developmentally disabled children and normal controls; and in differentiating among developmentally disabled children on the basis of presenting behavioral problems.