Syndromal structure of psychopathology in children of Thailand and the United States.

Are the syndromes of child psychopathology similar across cultures? Yes, in most comparisons of Western cultures. Here the authors compared Thailand and the United States, Eastern and Western cultures differing markedly in racial/ethnic composition, religious-philosophical traditions, and beliefs and practices regarding children. Exploratory factor analysis and a useful kappa approach were used to compare Child Behavior Checklist factor structure in Thai and American children aged 6 to 11. A few syndromes (e.g., somatic problems) showed strong cross-cultural agreement; most did not. Among the narrowband syndromes (e.g., aggression, anxiety), more than half the cross-cultural comparisons showed concordance kappas at or below .40. Such differences in syndromal structure have implications for child classification, assessment, psychopathology, and treatment research, both across and within cultures.