Culture and youth psychopathology: testing the syndromal sensitivity model in Thai and American adolescents.

Current widespread use of the same youth assessment measures and scales across different nations assumes that youth psychopathology syndromes do not differ meaningfully across nations. By contrast, the authors' syndromal sensitivity model posits 3 processes through which cultural differences can lead to cross-national differences in psychopathology syndromes. The authors tested this model in a comparison of Child Behavior Checklist syndromes for adolescents in Thailand and the United States.

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.