Concurrent Validation of the Treatment Outcome Package (TOP) for Children and Adolescents

• Published in: Journal of child and family studies Vol. 25; no. 8; pp. 2415 - 2422
• Main Authors: Baxter, Elizabeth E., Alexander, Pamela C., Kraus, David R., Bentley, Jordan H., Boswell, James F., Castonguay, Louis G.
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: New York Springer US 01-08-2016; Springer Nature B.V
• Subjects: Adolescents; Adults; Assertiveness; Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder; Behavior Rating Scales; Behavioral Science and Psychology; Check Lists; Child and School Psychology; Child Behavior; Child Behaviour Checklist; Child welfare; Children & youth; Clinical assessment; Community Relations; Construct Validity; Depression (Psychology); Emotional Problems; Functional Behavioral Assessment; Health behavior; Mental health; Modeling (Psychology); Original Paper; Outcomes of Treatment; Parents; Predictive Validity; Preschool Children; Psychological aspects; Psychological well being; Psychology; Psychosis; Psychotherapy; Questionnaires; Resistance (Psychology); Separation Anxiety; Social Problems; Social Sciences; Sociology; Validation studies; Validity; Violence; New York; United States > US; Children; Adolescents; Concurrent validity; Mental health; Assessment
• ISSN: 1062-1024; 1573-2843
• DOI: 10.1007/s10826-016-0419-4

The Treatment Outcome Package for children and adolescents (TOP) is a behavioral health and well-being assessment used widely in clinical and child welfare populations. The primary purpose of this study was to examine the concurrent validity of the Child and Adolescent versions of the TOP with the Child Behavior Checklist (CBCL) and the Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire (SDQ) with a community sample. Children and adolescents (N = 203) 3–18 years of age from a community sample completed the CBCL, the SDQ, and the TOP. Significant correlations emerged between the TOP and theoretically similar scales on the SDQ and the CBCL. Analyses demonstrated that the TOP has excellent concurrent validity on most subscales with both the CBCL and the SDQ. These results provide additional evidence for the TOP’s utility and validity as a measure of psychological well-being and functioning.