The Berkeley Puppet Interview: A Screening Instrument for Measuring Psychopathology in Young Children

Background: While child self-reports of psychopathology are increasingly accepted, little standardized instruments are utilized for these practices. The Berkeley Puppet Interview (BPI) is an age-appropriate instrument for self-reports of problem behavior by young children. Objective: Psychometric properties of the Dutch version of the BPI will be reported, specifically, test-retest reliability, intra-class correlations, congruent and concurrent validity. Methods: In a sample of 300 children (M[subscript age] = 7.04 years, SD = 1.15), the BPI was administered twice, with a 1-year interval. Parents and teachers filled out questionnaires about their children's problem behavior. Results: Findings from the analyses indicate that the BPI subscales have sufficient test-retest reliability and can be reliably coded. Furthermore, findings suggest adequate congruent validity. More support for concurrent validity is found among externalizing problems in comparison to internalizing problems. Conclusions: With regard to the present study, the BPI seems to have adequate psychometric properties. As such, the BPI enables interviewing young children about their psychopathology-related symptoms in a standardized way. The BPI could be applied in clinical practice as a complement to the diagnostic cycle, allowing children's self-reports to play an increasingly important role.