Why ASEBA?

Preschool Assessments – For Ages 1.5 – 5 years

The preschool forms and profiles span ages 1.5 – 5 years. The forms obtain parents’, day-care providers’, and teachers’ ratings of 99 problem items plus descriptions of problems, disabilities, what concerns respondents most about the child, and the best things about the child.

The empirically based syndromes scored from the CBCL1½-5 and C-TRF reflect actual patterns of problems derived from factor analyses that were coordinated between the two instruments. The CBCL1½-5 also has a Sleep Problems syndrome. Both forms have parallel Internalizing, Externalizing, and Total Problems scales and a Stress Problems scale.

Based on over 30,000 CBCLs and C-TRFs from 30 societies, the Module with Multicultural Options for Ages 1½-5 scores problem scales with norms for societies that have relatively low problem scores (Group 1 societies), intermediate scores (Group 2), or high scores (Group 3). Select societies by name or select Group 1, 2, or 3 norms for profiles of syndrome, DSM-oriented, Internalizing, Externalizing, and Total Problems scales.

You can also select norms for displaying scale scores in cross-informant bar graphs for multiple CBCLs and C-TRFs per child. Scores from each form can even be displayed in relation to more than one set of norms; e.g., display scores from a CBCL completed by an immigrant parent with norms for the parent’s home society and the host society. You can then see whether scores are clinically deviant according to either or both sets of norms.

The Multicultural Supplement to the Manual for the ASEBA Preschool Forms and Profiles fully documents construction of the multicultural norms for the CBCL/1½-5 and C-TRF. The Supplement illustrates multicultural scoring, cross-informant comparisons, and practical applications in school, mental health, medical, and forensic contexts. The Supplement also reports multicultural findings for confirmatory factor analyses, internal consistencies, cross-informant correlations, and distributions of scale scores. Updates are provided for the Language Development Survey (LDS) of the CBCL/1½-5. Research guidelines and extensive reviews of research on the instruments are also provided, plus a bibliography of over 300 publications reporting their use with young children.

Language Development Survey (LDS)

An especially valuable feature of the CBCL/1½-5 is the LDS, which uses parents’ reports to assess children’s expressive vocabularies and word combinations, as well as risk factors for language delays. Developed by Dr. Leslie Rescorla, the LDS has been used in numerous studies of language problems. Based on our national normative sample, the LDS indicates whether a child’s vocabulary and word combinations are delayed relative to norms for ages 18-35 months. The LDS can also be completed for language-delayed older children for comparison with norms up to 35 months.

Preschool CBCL 1½-5-LDS and C-TRF Scales

Syndrome Scales

Emotionally Reactive; Anxious/Depressed; Somatic Complaints; Withdrawn; Sleep Problems (CBCL only); Attention Problems; Aggressive Behavior.

DSM-Oriented Scales

These scales comprise CBCL/1½-5-LDS and C-TRF items that experienced psychiatrists and psychologists from many cultures rated as being very consistent with DSM-5 diagnostic categories: Depressive Problems; Anxiety Problems; Autism Spectrum Problems; Attention Deficit/Hyperactivity Problems; Oppositional Defiant Problems.

Revisions of Forms

In 2000, ASEBA revised the Child Behavior Checklist/2-3 (CBCL/2-3) and Caregiver-Teacher Report Form (C-TRF) to span ages 1½-5. Two items in the CBCL/2-3 that were unscored or rare were replaced on the CBCL/1½-5-LDS with items that sharpen assessment of important syndromes: 51. Overweight was replaced by 51. Shows panic for no good reason and 79. Stores up things was replaced by 79. Rapid shifts between sadness and excitement. 

School-age Assessments (CBCL, TRF, YSR)

The school-age assessment forms are the CBCL6-18, completed by parents or surrogates; the TRF6-18, completed by teachers and other school staff; and the YSR11-18 completed by youths.

The Module with Multicultural Options for Ages 6-18 (MMO/6-18) displays problem-scale profiles and cross-informant bar graphs in relation to multicultural (including U.S.) norms. The Multicultural Supplement fully documents the multicultural norms and illustrates their clinical and research applications

Different norms can be selected for a child’s CBCL, TRF, and YSR scores. If norms are unavailable for a society, you can elect default norms or other norms deemed appropriate for the child. The same scale scores can also be displayed with different norms.

The Module includes the Obsessive-Compulsive Problems, Stress Problems, Sluggish Cognitive Tempo (not on YSR), and Positive Qualities (YSR only) scales.

School-Age (CBCL/6-18, TRF, & YSR) Scales

Empirically based syndrome scales scored from the CBCL/6-18, TRF, and YSR are based on factor analyses coordinated across the forms.

DSM-oriented scales comprise items identified by experts from many cultures as very consistent with DSM-5 categories. The six DSM-oriented scales are:

• Depressive Problems
• Anxiety Problems
• Somatic Problems
• Attention Deficit/Hyperactivity Problems
• Oppositional Defiant Problems
• Conduct Problems

The DSM-oriented scales are scored from all three forms. Inattention and Hyperactivity-Impulsivity subscales are also scored from the TRF Attention Deficit/Hyperactivity Problems scale.