The Generalizability of the Youth Self-Report Syndrome Structure

Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology 2007, Vol. 75, No. 5, 729 –738

Copyright 2007 by the American Psychological Association 0022-006X/07/$12.00 DOI: 10.1037/0022-006X.75.5.729

The Generalizability of the Youth Self-Report Syndrome Structure in 23 Societies
Masha Y. Ivanova and Thomas M. Achenbach
University of Vermont

Leslie A. Rescorla
Bryn Mawr College

Levent DumenciUniversity of Vermont

Fredrik Almqvist
Helsinki University

Niels Bilenberg
University of Southern Denmark

Hector Bird
Columbia University

Anders G. Broberg
University of Goteborg ¨

Anca Dobrean
Babes-Bolyai University

Manfred Dopfner ¨
University of Cologne

Nese Erol
Ankara University

Maria Forns
University of Barcelona

Helga Hannesdottir
Landspıtalinn UniversityHospital ´

Yasuko Kanbayashi
Chuo University

Michael C. Lambert
University of Missouri—Columbia

Patrick Leung
Chinese University of Hong Kong

Asghar Minaei
Research Institute of Exceptional Children

Mesfin S. Mulatu
The MayaTech Corporation

Torunn Novik
Buskerud Hospital

Kyung Ja Oh
Yonsei University

Alexandra Roussos
Attiki Child Psychiatric Hospital

MichaelSawyer
University of Adelaide and Women’s and Children’s Hospital

Zeynep Simsek
University of Harran

Hans-Christoph Steinhausen
University of Zurich

Sheila Weintraub
Helsinki University

Christa Winkler Metzke
University of Zurich

Tomasz Wolanczyk
Medical University of Warsaw

Nelly Zilber
Falk Institute for Mental Health and Behavioral Studies and French Research Center inJerusalem

Rita Zukauskiene
Mykolas Romeris University

Frank C. Verhulst
Erasmus University Medical Center—Sophia Children’s Hospital
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IVANOVA ET AL. As a basis for theories of psychopathology, clinical psychology and related disciplines need sound taxonomies that are generalizable across diverse populations. To test the generalizability of a statistically derived 8-syndrometaxonomic model for youth psychopathology, confirmatory factor analyses (CFAs) were performed on the Youth Self-Report (T. M. Achenbach & L. A. Rescorla, 2001) completed by 30,243 youths 11–18 years old from 23 societies. The 8-syndrome taxonomic model met criteria for good fit to the data from each society. This was consistent with findings for the parent-completed Child Behavior Checklist(Achenbach & Rescorla, 2001) and the teacher-completed Teacher’s Report Form (Achenbach & Rescorla, 2001) from many societies. Separate CFAs by gender and age group supported the 8-syndrome model for boys and girls and for younger and older youths within individual societies. The findings provide initial support for the taxonomic generalizability of the 8-syndrome model across very diverse societies, bothgenders, and 2 age groups. Keywords: taxonomy, youths, psychopathology, Youth Self-Report, multicultural

To strengthen the theoretical foundations of its science and practice, clinical psychology needs sound taxonomies of emotional and behavioral problems. In other words, research, training, as-

Masha Y. Ivanova, Thomas M. Achenbach, and Levent Dumenci, Department of Psychiatry, Universityof Vermont; Leslie A. Rescorla, Department of Psychology, Bryn Mawr College; Fredrik Almqvist and Sheila Weintraub, Department of Child Psychiatry, Helsinki University, Helsinki, Finland; Niels Bilenberg, Department of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, University of Southern Denmark, Odense, Denmark; Hector Bird, Department of Psychiatry, Columbia University; Anders G. Broberg, Department ofPsychology, University of Goteborg, Goteborg, Sweden; Anca Dobrean, ¨ ¨ Department of Psychology, Babes-Bolyai University, Cluj-Napoca, Romania; Manfred Dopfner, Department of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry and ¨ Psychotherapy, University of Cologne, Cologne, Germany; Nese Erol, Department of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, Ankara University, Ankara, Turkey; Maria Forns, Faculty of Psychology,...