The Factor Structure of Child Behavior Checklist Scores With Elementary School Students Referred to Counseling Within Low-Income Communities

The Child Behavior Checklist (CBCL) is one of the most frequently used assessments of social, emotional, and behavioral functioning; however, previous research has noted inconsistency in the factor structure and items included on the Child Behavior Checklist for Ages 6 to 18 Years (CBCL/6-18) when tested with diverse samples of client populations. Thus, the purpose of our investigation was to examine the factor structure of CBCL/6-18 scores (N = 459) with diverse American children referred to receive school-based mental health counseling enrolled in five Title I elementary schools in the Southeastern United States. We performed confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) and principal component analysis (PCA) on CBCL/6-18 scores to examine the factor structure and internal consistency reliability of the data. Results demonstrated an inadequate fit for model and further data analyses resulted in a three-factor, 32-item model (41.40% of the variance explained). Implications of the findings support a new conceptual framework of the CBCL/6-18 to provide a more parsimonious model when working with diverse populations, specifically children from low-income families.