Factor Structure of Scores from the Conners' Rating Scales–Revised Among Nepali Children

Abstract

This study used exploratory and confirmatory factor analyses to examine the structures of scores from the Conners’ Teacher and Parent Rating Scales–Revised (CTRS-R and CPRS-R, respectively; Conners, 1997). The scales were administered to 1,835 parents and 1,387 teachers of children in Nepal's Sarlahi district – a region where no other measures of child psychopathology have been studied. With a Nepali sample, the findings indicate that reduced two factor models for the Conners’ scales are superior to the models identified in the scale development research. The hyperactivity and inattention factors were comparable to what has been identified in prior research, while other factors (e.g., social problems) differed substantially. Implications for use of the Conners’ scales in Nepal and cross cultural issues in the assessment of ADHD symptoms are discussed.

Internal and External Validity of Sluggish Cognitive Tempo and ADHD Inattention Dimensions with Teacher Ratings of Nepali Children

“…The factors also showed discriminant validity with each other. Although these results should be considered preliminary due to the large number of items (56 manifest variables) relative to the small number of participants (366 children rated by 61 teachers), these findings do replicate and extend the factor analytic results from the first study with teacher ratings of Nepali children (Pendergast et al 2014). These results are not reported in greater detail due to the large number of manifest variables relative to sample size.…”

“…First, we were unable to collect parent of child self-report ratings and thus the findings reported herein are restricted to teacher ratings. In addition, at this time the results should be considered specific to English-speaking elementary schools in Nepal-although the findings with teacher ratings from Pendergast et al (2014) suggest similar results might have occurred in Nepali-speaking schools. Also our use of a single method, rating scales, is a limitation.…”

“…In contrast, boys had significantly higher SCT scores than girls only at assessment one (assessment one: r = .12, SE = .04, p < .05; assessment two: r = .06, SE = .04, ns). demonstrate the internal validity of the SCT symptoms relative to the ADHD-IN symptoms with Nepali children and only the second study to our knowledge to evaluate the structure of ADHD symptoms with teacher ratings of Nepali children (Pendergast et al 2014, see also our footnote 1). Although additional research needs to occur, these findings suggest that the eight SCT symptoms and examples shown in Table 1 may approximate the core features of the SCT construct as evidenced across differing contexts (see also Lee et al under review).…”

“…If support occurs for our hypotheses with teacher ratings of Nepali children, then such would replicate the findings with ratings by teachers from South Korea (Lee et al, under review) and the United States (Lee et al, 2014). In addition, we are aware of only one other study to date that has evaluated the structure of ADHD symptoms with Nepali children (i.e., a factor analysis of the Conners Parent and Teacher Rating Scales; Pendergast et al, 2014). Thus, the current study contributes to the literature on SCT as well as the structure of psychopathology more broadly (i.e., ADHD, ODD, anxiety, depression) in Nepali children.…”

High levels of depressive symptoms and low quality of life are reported during pregnancy in Cape Coast, Ghana; a longitudinal study

“…We used scree plot [ 53 ], parallel analysis [ 54 ] and minimum average partials [ 55 ] (MAP) to determine the number of factors to retain. Pattern coefficients ≥ 0.30 were considered salient on a factor and a minimum of three salient items were considered adequate on each factor [ 56 ]. Items with low salient loadings were deleted, and the reliability or internal consistency for each factor was examined using Cronbach’s alpha, with ≥ 0.70 considered adequate [ 57 ].…”