Abstract
Developing normed treatment outcome measures is important to research addressing treatment effectiveness and to improved clinical care. The Preschool Outcome Questionnaire (POQ) is a new measure designed for use with preschool children aged two to six. Designed in collaboration with parents and clinicians, the POQ is brief, easy to administer, score and interpret. This study reports on the instrument’s psychometric evaluation, contains preliminary normative data, and provides a clinical cut-off and a reliable change index to facilitate clinical use of the instrument. Results show that the POQ has acceptable test–retest and internal reliability, concurrent validity and criterion validity. Importantly, results also show that the instrument is sensitive to clinically relevant change. Clinical implications are discussed as well as suggestions for further research.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Achenbach, T. M., & Rescorla, L. A. (2002). Manual for the ASEBA preschool forms & profiles. Burlington, VT: University of Vermont, Research Center for Children, Youth, & Families.
Belfer, M. L. (2007). Critical review of world policies for mental healthcare for children and adolescents. Current Opinion in Psychiatry, 20, 349–352.
Belfer, M. L. (2008). Child and adolescent mental disorders: The magnitude of the problem across the globe. Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry, 49, 226–236.
Borckardt, J. J., Nash, M. R., Murphy, M. D., Moore, M., Shaw, D., & O’Neil, P. (2008). Clinical practice as natural laboratory for psychotherapy research: A guide to case-based time-series analysis. American Psychologist, 63, 77–95.
Burlingame, G. M., Lambert, M. J., Reisinger, C. W., Neff, W. L., & Mosier, J. I. (1995). Pragmatics of tracking mental health outcomes in a managed care setting. Journal of Mental Health Administration, 22, 226–236.
Burlingame, G. M., Wells, M. G., Lambert, M. J., & Cox, J. (2004). Youth outcome questionnaire. In M. E. Maruish (Ed.), The use of psychological testing for treatment planning and outcome assessment (3rd ed., pp. 235–274). Mahwah, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates.
Chambless, D. L., & Hollon, S. D. (1998). Defining empirically supported therapies. Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology, 66, 7–18.
Drotar, D., Stein, R. E. K., & Perrin, E. C. (1995). Methodological issues in using the child behavior checklist and its related instruments in clinical child psychology research. Journal of Clinical Child & Adolescent Psychology, 24, 184–192.
Fonagy, P. (2002). Outcome measurement in children and adolescents. In W. W. IsHak, T. Burt, & L. I. Sederer (Eds.), Outcome measurement in psychiatry: A critical Review (pp. 59–75). Washignton, DC: American Psychiatic Publishing, Inc.
Goodman, R. (2001). Psychometric properties of the strengths and difficulties questionnaire (SDQ). Journal of the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, 40, 1337–1345.
Jacobson, N. S., & Truax, P. (1991). Clinical significance: A statistical approach to defining meaningful change in psychotherapy research. Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology, 59, 12–19.
Kamphaus, R. W., & Reynolds, C. R. (2007). BASC-2 behavioral and emotional screening system manual. Minneapolis, MN: Pearson Assessments.
Kazdin, A. E. (2001). Almost clinically significant (p < .10): Current measures may only approach clinical significance. Clinical psychology: Science and practice, 8, 455–462.
Kazdin, A. E. (2004). Psychotherapy for children and adolescents. In M. J. Lambert (Ed.), Bergin and Garfield’s handbook of psychotherapy and behavior change (5th ed., pp. 543–589). New York: Wiley.
Kazdin, A. E. (2008). Evidence-based treatment and practice: New opportunities to bridge clinical research and practice, enhance the knowledge base, and improve patient care. American Psychologist, 63, 146–159.
Kazdin, A. E., & Kendall, P. C. (1998). Current progress and future plans for developing effective treatments: Comments and perspectives. Journal of Clinical Child Psychology, 27, 217–226.
Lambert, M. J., Gregersen, A. T., & Burlingame, G. M. (2004). The outcome questionnaire. In M. Maruish (Ed.), The use of psychological testing for treatment planning and outcome assessment (3rd ed., pp. 191–234). Mahwah, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum.
Lambert, M. J., Harmon, C., Slade, K., Whipple, J. L., & Hawkins, E. J. (2005). Providing feedback to psychotherapists on their patients’ progress: Clinical results and practice suggestions. Journal of Clinical Psychology, 61, 165–174.
Littell, R. C., Milliken, G. A., Stroup, W. W., & Wolfinger, R. D. (1996). SAS system for mixed models. Cary, NC: SAS Institute.
Mathai, J., Anderson, P., & Bourne, A. (2003). Use of the strengths and difficulties questionnaire as an outcome measure in a child and adolescent mental health service. Australasian Psychiatry, 11, 334–337.
McLennan, J. D., Wathen, C. N., MacMillan, H. L., & Lavis, J. N. (2006). Research-practice gaps in child mental health. Journal of the American Acadamy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, 45, 658–665.
New Freedom Commission on Mental Health. (2003). Achieving the promise: Transforming mental health care in America. Final Report. DHHS Pub. No. SMA-03-3832. Rockville, MD.
Okiishi, J. C., Lambert, M. J., Eggett, D., Nielsen, S. L., Dayton, D. D., & Vermeersch, D. A. (2006). An analysis of therapist treatment effects: Toward providing feedback to individual therapists on their patients’ psychotherapy outcome. Journal of Clinical Psychology, 62, 1157–1172.
Raudenbush, S. W., & Bryk, A. (2002). Hierarchical linear models: Applications and data analysis methods (2nd ed.). Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage Publications.
Reynolds, C. R., & Kamphaus, R. W. (1992). Behavioral assessment system for children. Circle Pines, MN: American Guidance Service.
Ringle, J. S., & Surm, R. (2001). National estimates of mental health utilization and expenditures for children in 1998. Journal of Behavioral Health Services and Research, 28, 319–333.
Sayal, K. (2006). Annotation: Pathways to care for children with mental health problems. Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry, 47, 649–659.
Vermeersch, D. A., Lambert, M. J., & Burlingame, G. M. (2000). Outcome questionnaire: Item sensitivity to change. Journal of Personality Assessment, 74, 242–261.
Vermeersch, D. A., Whipple, J. L., Lambert, M. J., Hawkins, E. J., Bruchfield, C. M., & Okiishi, J. C. (2004). Outcome questionnaire: Is it sensitive to changes in counseling center clients? Journal of Counseling Psychology, 51, 38–49.
Weisz, J. R., & Hawley, K. M. (1998). Finding, evaluating, refining, and applying empirically supported treatments for children and adolescents. Journal of Clinical Child Psychology, 27, 206–216.
Weisz, J. R., McCarty, C. A., & Valeri, S. M. (2006). Effects of psychotherapy for depression in children and adolescents: A meta-analysis. Psychological Bulletin, 132, 132–149.
Wells, M. G., Plenk, A., & Dee, C. (2001). Preschool outcome questionnaire. Salt Lake City, UT: The Children’s Center.
Whipple, J. L., Lambert, M. J., & Vermeersch, D. A. (2003). Improving the effects of psychotherapy: The use of early identification of treatment and problem-solving strategies in routine practice. Journal of Counseling Psychology, 50, 59–68.
Acknowledgments
We thank Drs. Agnus M. Plenk and Douglas F. Goldsmith as well as the staff of the Children’s Center in Salt Lake City and Kerns Utah and the Salt Lake City CAP Head Start programs for their valuable contributions to the creation and validation of the POQ.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Appendices
Appendix 1
Appendix 2
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Barker, D.H., Lloyd, T.Q., Stewart, P.K. et al. Psychometric Validation of the Preschool Outcome Questionnaire: A Preschool Treatment Outcome Instrument. J Child Fam Stud 19, 504–515 (2010). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10826-009-9322-6
Published:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10826-009-9322-6