Clinical utility of the CBCL Dysregulation Profile in children with disruptive behavior.

Background: Children who are severely dysregulated experience a range of concurrent and long-term impairments and psychopathology and are particularly at-risk for mood and anxiety disorders. The Child Behavior Checklist Dysregulation Profile (CBCL-DP) may be useful in identifying children who are highly dysregulated, which could facilitate early intervention.

Methods: We examined the prevalence, gender differences, parent-teacher agreement, and concurrent validity of two categorical definitions of the CBCL-DP in 348 children ages 6-12 who were clinic-referred for assessment and treatment because of disruptive behavior.