Factorial structure, comorbidity and prevalence of the Thought Problems empirical syndrome in a paediatric sample

Abstract

This study shows the findings about prevalence and comorbidity of alterations in thinking in a paediatric clinical sample. Its aim was to find out about the empirical configuration (factor structure) of thought problems in minors with psychological problems. Method: The sample population included 300 minors from 6 to 12 years old who showed psychological alterations and had been referred by different medical specialists. The assessment instrument used was an adaptation of the Child Behaviour Checklist (CBCL), consisting of 96 items. Results: From the factorization carried out an empirical syndrome which partially coincides with Achenbach and Rescorla’s (2001) factorization can be seen. The percentage of cases above the 98 percentile of the mean plus one and two standard deviations were calculated both in the thought problems factor from Achenbach’s factorization and in the paediatric factorization. The prevalences found ranged between 2.1% (pc 98) and 24.5% (sd mean + 1). In all the cases the percentage of boys with thought problems was higher than that of girls. Furthermore, the thought problem factor showed a high degree of association with the following factors: dissocial, somatic complaints, confrontational/defiant, attention deficit hyperactivity disorder and, to a lesser extent, anxiety and depression.