The Cross-Ethnic Equivalence of Measures Commonly used in Mental Health Services Research with Children

The development and validation of culturally competent mental health services requires that culturally equivalent instrumentation be used in evaluations of such services. Unfortunately, cross-ethnic equivalence has rarely been examined for research instruments commonly used with Black and White chil...

Full description

Saved in:
Bibliographic Details
Published in:Journal of emotional and behavioral disorders 1996-10, Vol.4 (4), p.231-239
Main Authors: CUNNINGHAM, PHILLIPPE B., HENGGELER, SCOTT W., PICKREL, SUSAN G.
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Adolescents
Behavior Disorders
Behavior problems
Black white relations
Child development
Children
Competence
Cultural competence
Cultural Differences
Cultural equivalence
Culture Fair Tests
Delinquency
Emotional Disturbances
Emotionally disturbed children
Ethnic aspects
Ethnic Groups
Ethnicity
Evaluation Methods
Family Problems
Family relations
Health research
Health Services
Interpersonal Competence
Juvenile offenders
Measures
Measures (Individuals)
Mental disorders
Mental health
Mental health care
Mental Health Programs
Mental health services
Multiple Disabilities
Peer Relationship
Peer relationships
Program Evaluation
Severity (of Disability)
Social skills
Substance Abuse
Test Validity
Youth
Citations: Items that this one cites
Items that cite this one
Online Access:Get full text
Tags: Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
Description
Summary:The development and validation of culturally competent mental health services requires that culturally equivalent instrumentation be used in evaluations of such services. Unfortunately, cross-ethnic equivalence has rarely been examined for research instruments commonly used with Black and White children. In a sample of 117 juvenile offenders with diagnosed substance abuse or dependence disorders and considerable psychiatric comorbidities, the present study examined the cross-ethnic equivalence of several measures commonly used by services researchers to tap contextual correlates (i.e., parental symptomatology, family relations, peer relations) of serious emotional disturbance in children. Results indicated that associations between these measures and criterion measures of youth' behavior problems and social competence did not vary as a function of ethnicity. Thus, the findings support the cultural equivalence of the measures used in this study; as such, they support the validity of findings from studies that have used these measures with Black and White youth and their families.
ISSN:1063-4266
1538-4799
DOI:10.1177/106342669600400404