Date of Award:

5-1996

Document Type:

Dissertation

Degree Name:

Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)

Department:

Psychology

Committee Chair(s)

Kenneth W. Merrell

Committee

Kenneth W. Merrell

Committee

Susan L. Crowley

Committee

Richard N. Roberts

Committee

Patricia L. Truhn

Committee

J. Dennis Odell

Abstract

In recent years, research in childhood psychopathology has focused on a group of disorders referred to as internalizing. Internalizing disorders include such problems as depression, anxiety, somatic complaints, and social withdrawal. These disorders frequently coexist with one another. Due to the inner-directed nature of these disorders, and their tendency to coexist, internalizing problems often go unnoticed and untreated. The present study involved the development and preliminary validation of a new self-report instrument for assessing a broad range of internalizing problems in children, the Internalizing Disorders Evaluation Scale for Children (IDESC).

The research was conducted in five distinct phases: (a) item development; (b) development for the prototype and content validation; (c) development of the tryout version and qualitative feedback; (d) regional field trial; and (e) data analysis. Initial item descriptors were obtained from a systematic review of the child psychopathology literature. Potential items were then subjected to a content validation procedure (involving a panel of local experts), a readability analysis, and a qualitative child feedback trial. Next, the IDESC was administered to a group of children using two different methods of administration--oral and written. No statistically significant differences were found between total scores of the two groups. Finally, a regional field trial was conducted with the IDESC, and item-total correlations and an internal consistency coefficient were calculated.

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