Improving the Measurement of Children’s Mental Health Problems in Colombia with Item Response Theory

Autor: Jorge Cuartas

The present study examines the psychometric properties of the mental health scale for children used in the 2015 Colombian Mental Health Survey. A nationally representative sample of 2,727 children is used that includes reports from their main caregivers about 26 mental health problem symptoms from the Reporting Questionnaire for Children (RQC), the Child Behavior Checklist (CBCL) and the Brief Screening and Diagnostic Questionnaire (CBTD). Classical test theory and factor analysis were conducted to analyze the classical location and information of each item, along with the dimensionality, reliability, and convergent validity of the scale. Item Response Theory (IRT) was used in order to estimate theoretically invariant item parameters for location and information. Findings reveal that the mental health scale for children has adequate psychometric properties for its use in Colombia. Furthermore, IRT analyses reveals a set of items that maximize information and that may be used for future use when more efficiency is warranted.