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The Brief Problem Monitor (BPM) is a 19-item instrument newly developed for screening children and adolescents for emotional and behavioral problems. The aim of this study was to investigate the psychometric properties of the youth-report and parent-report versions of the BPM (BPM-Y and BPM-P) among Chinese youth. Data was collected from two samples: a middle school student sample (n = 1,246, girls = 516 [41.4%]) and a community youth sample from families suffering adversity (n = 383, girls = 143 [37.3%]). We conducted a series of confirmatory factor analyses to test and compare the latent structures of the BPM-Y and BPM-P. Results suggested that the three-factor model of the BPM-Y and BPM-P fit the data best. And based on the omnibus fit indices and difference between them, the items of the BPM-Y and BPM-P support measurement invariance across informants (both youth- and parent-report) for the three-factor model. Internal consistency coefficients were satisfactory (Cronbach's α = .73 ~ .90). In terms of convergent validity, BPM factors and BPM scores showed expected correlations with strength and difficulties behavior, callous–unemotional traits, psychopathic traits, and social competence. In sum, our findings supported that the three-factor structuure of BPM-Y and BPM-P could be a promising instrument to screen emotional and behavioral problems in Chinese youth.

The BASC-3 Behavioral and Emotional Screening System Student Form (BESS-3-SF; Kamphaus & Reynolds, 2015) is a 28-item screening tool for behavioral and emotional risks among children and youth. In this study, we tested if the 26 items from the Behavior Assessment System for Children-Self Report of Personality-Third Edition (BASC-3-SRP) could function as BESS-3-SF as a screening tool among Chinese youth. Data were collected with BASC-3-SRP from 1,186 adolescents (Male: 35%) in 10 schools, which were randomly and evenly divided into two samples: Sample A and Sample B. We first conducted an exploratory factor analysis (EFA) with Sample A, and then a first-order confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) and a bifactor CFA with Sample B. EFA and first-order CFA suggested a five-factor structure. Bifactor analysis indicated variance explained by the general factor reached the threshold for a unidimensional interpretation. Results also suggested that cultural factors (e.g., relationship with teachers) might need to be considered in further examination of BESS-3-SF among Chinese youth. Together, our findings suggest that BESS-3-SF is a promising tool for screening general behavioral and emotional risks among Chinese youth. Our findings also contribute to the literature regarding the dimensionality of the BESS forms.

There remains a need for a disorder-specific inventory of children’s depression and anxiety that can reliably screen anxious and depressive disorder symptomatology in Chinese children. The Revised Child and Anxiety Depression Scale (RCADS) is a self-report questionnaire assessing anxiety and depression in children (Chorpita et al., 2000; Piqueras et al., 2017). This study sought to evaluate its psychometric properties in a Mainland Chinese sample. Students from the 4th to 11th grades (N = 1001) participated in this study. Each of the RCADS subscales, by age and sex, possessed reliability coefficients ranging between .63 and .81. Means and standard deviations for RCADS subscales calculated for the age and sex sub-samples were reported. Participants reported slightly lower levels on five subscales than for Chorpita et al. (2000) normative sample. The scales were significantly and strongly correlated with the Child Behavior Checklist (CBCL) subscales (somatic, withdrawal, anxiety) as well as CBCL internalizing scores. Fit statistics suggested marginal to adequate fit for the six-factor model for the Chinese youth. The present study provides foundational support for the psychometric properties of the RCADS in a large sample of Chinese youth yet indicates that factor structure might be improved through enhanced sampling of culturally relevant symptom expressions.