The standardization of an inventory of child conduct problem behaviors

Abstract

This study presents the standardization data for a brief behavioral inventory of child conduct problem behaviors. The 36 item Eyberg Child Behavior Inventory (ECBI) was completed by the parents of 512 children (56% boys) ages 2 to 12. The psychometric characteristics of ECBI indicated that it is a reliable (.86 to .98) and valid instrument whose normally distributed scale is sensitive to a broad range of behavioral variability on the conduct problem dimension. Boys were reported to evidence more conduct problems than girls (p < .001; and mothers consistently reported more problem behaviors than fathers (p < .001). The relative consistency of ECBI scores across ages suggested that a conduct disorder is independent of stages in the child's development. It was suggested that conduct problem behavior is a manifestation of the interaction between the parent and child. The ECBI provides a psycho‐metrically sound parent‐report instrument to be used as an adjunct to observational methods in the treatment and study of conduct problem behaviors.