Session: Informant Discrepancies in Youth Behavior Problems and Implications for Clinical Research and Practice and Cross-Cultural Work (Society for Prevention Research 26th Annual Meeting)

Informant discrepancies in children’s internalizing and externalizing symptoms have long been considered a nuisance in psychological research. Nevertheless, discrepancies in reports of behavior problems are quite common with low to moderate correspondence often observed among raters (De Los Reyes et al., 2015). Although some informant discrepancies may be due to measurement error and/or differences in the methods used to assess youth behavior problems, discrepancies may also occur due to contextual variations in children’s behavior and different thresholds for problematic behavior (De Los Reyes et al., 2013). The goal of the present symposium is to present research on informant discrepancies in children’s symptoms, and to highlight factors that are associated with these discrepancies. Each study uses advanced analytic approaches and outlines implications for clinical and cross-cultural research and practice aimed at improving youth mental health.

The first paper, “Patterns of Parent-Youth Reports of Internalizing Problems in a Psychiatric Inpatient Sample: Links to Clinical Outcomes”, uses data from an in-patient hospital setting. The goal of this study is to identify whether profiles of parent- and youth-reported internalizing symptoms could be identified in this sample and to examine whether characteristics of the patients’ experiences (e.g., length of hospital stay) predicted profile membership. The second paper, “A Multi-Informant Approach to Assessing Childhood Internalizing and Externalizing Problems: The Role of Academic Engagement and Peer Processes” uses data from an at-risk community sample. This study aimed to identify profiles of parent- and teacher-reported internalizing and externalizing symptoms and to examine whether academic and peer processes predicted profile membership. The third paper, “A Cross-Cultural Quantitative Review of Research on Cross-Informant Correspondence in Reports of Child and Adolescent Mental Health” involves a meta-analysis of over 30 countries. The goal of this study was to examine whether reports of internalizing and externalizing symptoms as rated by teachers, parents, and youth differed depending on the country and cultural norms of that country.

Findings from these 3 studies have the potential to inform intervention efforts in community and clinic-based settings and highlight cross-cultural differences that may influence informant reports of symptoms. These studies may also help inform the work of clinicians in terms of incorporating reports from multiple raters in assigning diagnoses and developing treatment plans. A discussant will highlight commonalities among the papers, discuss implications for prevention, and moderate a discussion between the presenters and the audience.