Assessment instruments on children‘s internalizing behaviour: A review of their psychometric properties, functioning and applications

The study aims to summarize assessment instruments for teachers and practitioners to record externalized and internalized problems in children. The author sampled articles on children‘s psychopathology over the last twenty-five years, selected checklists and rating scales with multiple citations, and reviewed their properties. Most instruments use teachers and parent-report forms. Only a few instruments assess a number of different disorders. The psychometric properties of these instruments are presented in tables. Discussion and recommendation for teachers and researchers on which assessment instrument is the best to use when rating children’s behaviour, indicated that the rater must define in advance the goals of assessment, taking into consideration the factors that the instrument measures and its psychometric properties. The use of more than one instrument is recommended