Abstract
Research on child behavior problems requires standardized methodology in order to identify similarities and differences between societies. The present study compared parent-reported behavior problems of 360 Jamaican and 946 U.S. children aged 6 to 11. It revealed few differences in individual, total, internalizing (e.g., depression), and externalizing (e.g., fighting) problem scores as a function of nationality, gender, or age. Findings from this and other studies indicate the feasibility of a common methodology in cross-national studies of children's problems, but also the need for further refinement.
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The study was supported through grants from the University of Mississippi Faculty Development, Faculty Research, and Associates Funds, plus NIMH grant MH 40305 to Thomas Achenbach, which we gratefully acknowledge. We thank Dawn Davidson, Shawnette Brown, Patricia Smykle, Pauline Milbourn, Libbie Love, Anita Newell, William Morgan, Dennis Townsend, Emanuel Barber, Amanda Bigham, August Stone III, Angela Elvins, Ray Evins, Jr., Marsha Walls, Charlotte Fant, Christine Branton, Catherine Costigan, and Bahr Weiss for their assistance with data gathering and data reduction. We also thank Greta McVay for her assistance in manuscript preparation and John Weisz for his comments on the manuscript. Finally, we offer our sincerest gratitude to the many participating families and school staff members in Jamaica and the United States.
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Lambert, M.C., Knight, F., Taylor, R. et al. Epidemiology of behavioral and emotional problems among children of jamaica and the United States: Parent reports for ages 6 to 11. J Abnorm Child Psychol 22, 113–128 (1994). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF02169259
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF02169259