Abstract
Psychometric study of the Children's Behavior Problem Screening Test SPCI. The main purpose of the study was to create a screening test for children's behavior problems (SPCI) and to carry out psychometric analyses of its reliability and validity. The sample comprised 1,272 participants, 671 boys and 601 girls, ages between 5 and 12 years, of whom 937 randomly selected individuals had no clinical diagnosis, and 335 intentionally selected individuals had a clinical diagnosis (criterial groups). The results obtained reveal that the SPCI: 1) has high internal consistency; 2) it allows discrimination of children with and without behavior problems; children with and without emotional problems; and children with and without intellectual problems, which confirms its criterial validity; 3) more differences were found between boys and girls in the non-clinical sample (somatization, anxiety, dependent children, attention-hyperactivity, disruptive behavior, academic performance, violent behaviour) than in the clinical sample (attention-hyperactivity, disruptive behavior, academic performance, violent behaviour). However, in the total screening, the results was significantly higher in boys in both groups. Factor analysis revealed two factors, internalizing and externalizing behavior problems.
