Abstract

In this paper cross-cultural similarities and differences in child and adolescent behavior problem patterns were examined by comparing the Child Behavior Checklist data collected in Korea and the U.S. The Korean CBCL data were from the clinic referred sample of 952 boys and 426 girls between the ages of 4 and 16 and the non-referred sample of 778 boys and 740 girls in the same age range recruited from schools. The U.S data were from the standardization sample for the original CBCL as reported by Achenbach & Edelbrock(1983). The results were as follows. First, comparisons of behavior problem syndromes empirically derived from factor analyses of the Korean and American CBCL revealed considerable similarities, particularly in externalizing syndromes such as Aggressive and Delinquent syndromes. There was less similarity in the pattern of internalizing syndromes such as Anxious and Depressive syndromes. Second, Korean children and adolescents compared to their American peers showed significantly lower scores on the Aggressive and Delinquent scales but significantly higher scores on internalizing scales such as Somatic Complaints, Social Problems and Attention Problems. Third, there was considerable similarity in the type of problems frequently reported by parents from the two countries, but externalizing problems were much more likely to get clinic referral in the U.S. than in Korea. The crossnational differences outlined above were discussed in terms of cultural differences in childrearing practices, criteria for judgment of behavioral deviance, and beliefs and attitudes about mental health problems.