Longitudinal Invariance Analysis of Pediatric Symptom Checklist–17

• In Event: Measurement Invariance and Longitudinal Modeling

Abstract

The Pediatric Symptom Checklist-17 (PSC-17) screener was designed to measure children’s behavioral and emotional problems. However, it remains unclear whether the constructs measured by PSC-17 are invariant over time. This study explored the longitudinal measurement invariance in PSC-17 using teacher ratings (n=472) and parent ratings (n=321) of students from Grade 1 to Grade 3. Participants were rated at four time points (2017 fall, 2018 spring, 2018 fall and 2019 spring). Results showed that strict invariance of PSC-17(equality of factor pattern, factor loadings, intercepts and item uniqueness across time) held for both teacher and parent ratings. In general, the findings suggest that PSC-17 is an adequate measure for longitudinal latent construct comparison over time for lower grade level elementary school students.

Authors

• Ruiqin Gao, University of South Carolina - Columbia

• Christine DiStefano, University of South Carolina

• Jin Liu, University of South Carolina - Columbia

• Ning Jiang, University of South Carolina - Columbia