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Using Teacher Ratings to Assess the Association Between Mental Health Symptoms and Impairment in Children

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Abstract

The current study aimed to determine the extent of association between mental health symptoms and impairment in children using teacher ratings. Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaires (SDQ) data were extracted from an administrative database for consecutively referred children to a school mental health service between 2004 and 2009 (n = 480). Incremental increases in symptoms predicted increasing impairment levels in the sample using both linear and dichotomized impairment outcomes (both p < 0.0001). Unexpectedly, high estimated probabilities of abnormal impairment were observed well within the normal symptom range, particularly for younger elementary school-aged boys. The findings suggest that screening efforts that depend on cut-points on the SDQ total problem scale may be missing many substantially impaired children. Methodological limitations are discussed.

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Notes

  1. Percentages are approximate (based on data from 2011 to 2012), Community Outreach of Pediatrics and Psychiatry in Education (COPE). Annual report: 2011–2012 (unpublished report).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Community Health Sciences, University of Calgary, 3rd Floor, TRW Building, 3280 Hospital Drive NW, Calgary, AB, T2N 4Z6, Canada

    Susan Huculak

  2. Departments of Pediatrics, Community Health Sciences, and Psychiatry, University of Calgary, Calgary, Canada

    John D. McLennan

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  1. Susan Huculak
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  2. John D. McLennan
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Correspondence to Susan Huculak.

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Huculak, S., McLennan, J.D. Using Teacher Ratings to Assess the Association Between Mental Health Symptoms and Impairment in Children. School Mental Health 6, 15–26 (2014). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12310-013-9107-3

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s12310-013-9107-3

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