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This study examined the agreement between the Ages & Stages Questionnaires, third edition (ASQ-3), and the Ages & Stages Questionnaires: Social-Emotional, second edition (ASQ:SE-2), and investigated the relationship of the overall indication of "parental concerns" about their child's behavior on the ASQ-3 and the results of the ASQ:SE-2. A large and U.S. representative sample of 16,739 birth to 6 years old children was used to calculate agreements (1) between the ASQ-3 and the ASQ:SE-2, as well as (2) between the indication of "parental concerns" about their child's behavior on the ASQ-3 and the results from the child's ASQ:SE-2. Findings indicated .80 agreement between "typical" classifications on the ASQ-3 and the ASQ: SE-2; as well as .57 agreement on the "at-risk" status. When parents indicated a "behavioral concern" about their child on the ASQ-3 overall questions, 74% of these children were identified by a subsequent ASQ:SE-2. High agreement on the "at-risk" status between developmental and social-emotional screening tests was found. High agreement between parental concerns about child's behavior and results of the social-emotional screening test was found. This finding adds to the foundations of research on the importance of parental input in the early identification processes and can inform efforts to increase the efficiency of the screening process. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Introduction: The teaching of socio-emotional skills has received greater attention, with ongoing theoretical discussions about these competences. Evaluating such characteristics and their development, however, is challenging because of a lack of consensus about theoretical and practical models, the difficulty in analyses that rely solely on self-reports, and the scarcity of robust Brazilian psychometric instruments. Objectives: Therefore, the present study sought to (1) verify the psychometric evidence of the instrument’s internal consistency in assessing socio-emotional skills, (2) identify differences in respondents’ answers, and (3) identify potential issues with questionnaire items via semi-structured interviews. Methods: This pilot study involved 32 responses from children and adolescents and 25 responses from their family members. The questionnaire assessed five socio-emotional skills: self-awareness, self-management, social awareness, relationships, and responsible decision making. Descriptive analyses and Cronbach’s alpha calculations were applied to confirm internal consistency of the items in each subscale. Analyses of variance were also conducted to analyse responses from family members and children. Results: The results showed that self- awareness (α = 0.83, α = 0.76), self-management (α = 0.82, α = 0.79), and relationship skills (α = 0.71, α = 0.79) had adequate internal consistency in both children’s and family members’ versions. Significant results were observed in scores between family members and children/adolescents in selfawareness (p = 0.0159), self-management (p = 0.015). Conclusion: The present study underscores the importance and complexity of assessing responsible decisionmaking skills and suggests that the questionnaire can be useful for evaluating socio-emotional competencies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Neuropsychological alterations are characterized, mainly, by compromising functions such as memory, attention, executive functions, visual-spatial and linguistic abilities, acquired or congenital. The present study examines the internal structure and indicators of sensitivity and specificity of the Neuropsic-R scale. A total of 790 patients participated in this study, of which 432 (55%) were healthy (control group) and 358 (45%) with probable neuropsychological and neurological impairment (clinical group), from different Brazilian regions. In an exploratory analysis, 1 factor was removed, with factory loads between 0.312 and 0.93. The results of the confirmatory analysis revealed that the one-factor model for 19 items had the best fit (RMSEA = 0.044; CFI = 0.957; TLI = 0.953) and the general internal consistency index of the model was 0.93 (Cronbach's alpha). Sensitivity and specificity, calculated based on the ROC curve, revealed a minimum score of 43 points for the identification of neuropsychological alterations (minimum values of 19 and maximum of 76 points), which distinguishes a presumably sick population from a healthy one. For patients with suspected cognitive decline and dementia, the cutoff point is shifted to 47. Thus, the Neuropsic-R scale has good, fast, and reliable applicability in different contexts, especially for clinical and research purposes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In China, more than 90% of individuals in need are not receiving mental health services, partially because of the scarcity of valid and reliable developmental tools. This project aimed to adapt and validate a parent-completed screening tool, the Ages & Stages Questionnaires: Social-Emotional, Second Edition (ASQ:SE-2), to fill in this gap. First, a national representative sample of 2,830 children was accessed to establish cutoff scores. Results from a confirmatory multidimensionality item response theory analysis supported a two-factor structure with this sample. Evidence for item response theory reliabilities and internal consistency were also examined. The second study compared the Chinese ASQ:SE-2 with three convergent measures in a regional sample. Chinese ASQ:SE-2 total scores significantly correlated with most of the domain and total scores on the convergent measures. The classification agreement achieved a maximum of 85%. This project supports the use of the ASQ:SE-2 in the Chinese population, enhancing its clinical utility. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: In the DSM-III and the DSM-IV, bipolar disorder (BD) is classified as a mood disorder and diagnosis requires presence of a mood change, i.e., euphoria or irritability. In contrast, DSM-5 states that there must be some increase in energy or motor activity in addition to the mood change. Our aim was to identify which types of symptoms (i.e., mood or energy/activity-related symptoms) are the most informative in a manic episode., Methods: Symptoms of manic episodes in 106 outpatients with BD were assessed in a naturalistic study using the Young Mania Rating Scale (YMRS) between November 2002 and November 2015. The scale items were divided into three groups according to clinical criteria: mood, energy/activity, and other. For comparisons between groups, the Samejima graded response model from Item Response Theory (IRT) and the Test Information Function (TIF) were computed. Chi-square tests were used to verify the association between the groups of symptoms by comparing the area under the curve of the TIF results., Results: The information accounted for by energy/activity represents 77% of the proportion of the total TIF; about 23% is related to mood and other groups of symptoms. These proportions are statistically different (χ²[1] = 30.42, p < 0.001)., Conclusion: On average, changes in energy/activity tend to be more informative than mood changes during the manic phases of BD., Competing Interests: No conflicts of interest declared concerning the publication of this article.