Disruptive Behaviors across Different Disorders: Evaluation of a Clinical Sample Using the Eyberg Child Behavior Inventory

Abstract

Abstract. Objective: The study reports the prevalence of disruptive behaviors in a help-seeking sample of young children across a diverse range of clinical diagnoses (based on ICD-10). Method: The Eyberg Child Behavior Inventory (ECBI), a parent rating scale of disruptive behaviors, was completed on 310 children (2–11 years) at three child and adolescent psychiatry clinics in three German states (Bavaria, Hesse, Lower Saxony); the majority of children were outpatients. Results: Mean intensity scores of disruptive behaviors differed significantly by diagnostic group, with the lowest ratings within a community sample, and increasingly higher scores in children with a diagnosis from the internalizing spectrum, those with pervasive developmental disorders, and finally, those with externalizing disorders (e. g. hyperkinetic disorder, conduct disorders). Seventy percent of the clinical sample, compared to only 17 % of the community sample, exceeded the normative cut-off score of 111, indicating that disruptive behaviors are common in young German children seeking help for different mental health problems. Conclusions: These findings support the Research Domain Criteria approach by showing that disruptive behaviors cross our current diagnostic labels and may need to be assessed and conceptualized in treatment planning, even in children without a primary diagnosis from the externalizing spectrum.