Psychometric Properties of the Child Behavior Checklist (CBCL) for Ages 6-18 to Identify Autism Spectrum Disorders (ASD) in a Turkish Parent Sample


Ugurlu M., Boz E., Turgut S.

JOURNAL OF AUTISM AND DEVELOPMENTAL DISORDERS, cilt.55, sa.11, ss.4106-4117, 2025 (SSCI, Scopus) identifier identifier identifier

  • Yayın Türü: Makale / Tam Makale
  • Cilt numarası: 55 Sayı: 11
  • Basım Tarihi: 2025
  • Doi Numarası: 10.1007/s10803-024-06495-z
  • Dergi Adı: JOURNAL OF AUTISM AND DEVELOPMENTAL DISORDERS
  • Derginin Tarandığı İndeksler: Social Sciences Citation Index (SSCI), Scopus, BIOSIS, Child Development & Adolescent Studies, CINAHL, Education Abstracts, Educational research abstracts (ERA), EMBASE, ERIC (Education Resources Information Center), MEDLINE, Psycinfo, Public Affairs Index
  • Sayfa Sayıları: ss.4106-4117
  • Çanakkale Onsekiz Mart Üniversitesi Adresli: Evet

Özet

The Child Behavior Checklist for ages 6-18 (CBCL/6-18) is broadly used for psycho-educational assessment in identifying children's behavior problems in special education and psychology. However, the usefulness of the CBCL/6-18 in a Turkish sample still needs to be investigated. The current study aimed to investigate the psychometric properties of the measures of the CBCL/6-18 within a sample of Turkish parents. The psychometric evaluation includes item calibration using the Partial Credit Model (PCM). We analyzed data from 548 parents who have children with autism spectrum disorder. According to the PCM calibration, the results suggested that the Internalizing, Externalizing, and Total Problem subscales were unidimensional and showed local independence successfully. All subscales demonstrated adequate reliability, indicating that the scale distinguishes between children with different behavior problems. The subscales had varying item step ordering, meaning that transitions from one category to second by parent ratings are relatively straightforward. Some items with easy-to-define behavior problems, for example, Item 42 (constipated), were more likely to be endorsed by parents. Consequently, the CBCL/6-18 has adequate psychometric properties for accurately assessing problem behaviors in children based on parent ratings.