Journal of Child and Adolescent Behavior
Open Access

Research Article

Cross-Informant Agreement on Preadolescent's Emotional and Behavioral Problems in a Non-Clinical Cohort of Northern Italy Subjects: A Pilot Study

Cinzia Bressi^1*, Eleonora Minacapelli¹, Alessia Manzella¹, Giulia Alessandra Capra¹, Elisabetta Dipasquale¹ and Emanuela Paola Nocito¹

¹Department of Pathophysiology and Transplantation, State University of Milan, Homogenous Area of Mental Health, Psychotherapy Unit, Fondazione IRCCS Ca’ Granda Hospital, 20122 Milan, Italy

*Corresponding Author:

Cinzia Bressi
Department of Pathophysiology and
Transplantation State University of Milan
Homogenous Area of Mental Health
Psychotherapy Unit
Fondazione IRCCS Ca’ Granda Hospital
20122 Milan, Italy
Tel: +39-02-5503-5258
Fax: +39 02-5503-2642
E-mail: cinzia.bressi@unimi.it

Received Date: June 08, 2015; Accepted Date: July 28, 2015; Published Date: August 03, 2015

Citation: Bressi C, Minacapelli E, Manzella A, Capra GA, Dipasquale E, et al. (2015) Cross-Informant Agreement on Preadolescent’s Emotional and Behavioral Problems in a Non-Clinical Cohort of Northern Italy Subjects: A Pilot Study. J Child Adolesc Behav 3:229. doi: 10.4172/2375-4494.1000229

Copyright: © 2015 Bressi C, et al. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited

Background: The emotional-behavioral repertoire has been extensively studied in children and adolescents, devoting less effort to preadolescence. Objective: To investigate the emotional-behavioral repertoire compared to different sources of information – parents versus children – on a pilot non-clinical sample of Italian preadolescents. Methods: Thirty pre-adolescents aged 11 to 14 years old (16 females, 14 males) are consecutively referred to the Service of Psychotherapy, Ospedale Maggiore Policlinico, Milan for an evaluation of their mental health status. Pre-adolescents and their parents were respectively asked to fill in the Youth Self- Report (YSR) and the Child Behavior Check List (CBCL). Results: Significant differences between mothers and fathers emerged at Syndrome Scales (SSs): Anxious/ Depressed (p=0.026), Social Problems (p=0.035); at DSM-oriented Scales (DOSs) in Emotional Problems (p=0.012) and at the scales in Internalization (p=0.019). There are also significant differences on the total score (p=0.035). Comparing answers reported by pre-adolescents versus those reported by their parents, the number of scales with significant differences increases (SSs. Anxious/Depressed: p=0.032; Somatic Complaints: p=0.004; Thought Problems: p=0.010; DOSs. Anxiety Problems: p=0.044; Somatic Problems: p=.006; Internalization: p=0.016), with influences also the total score (p=0.049). Discreet correlations in all the global scales and in total scores between pre-adolescents and mothers, but not fathers, were found. Conclusions: Parents show differences in their perception of children’s emotional- behavioral problems, especially of internalizing behaviors. These results suggest the specific importance of an extended family analysis at this stage of development.

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