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. 2022 Oct 19;12(10):401.
doi: 10.3390/bs12100401.

Children's Mental Health: Discrepancy between Child Self-Reporting and Parental Reporting

Alejandra Caqueo-Urízar  1 , Alfonso Urzúa  2 , Ester Villalonga-Olives  3 , Diego Atencio-Quevedo  4   5 , Matías Irarrázaval  6   7 , Jerome Flores  4   5 , Cristian Ramírez  4   5
Affiliations

Children's Mental Health: Discrepancy between Child Self-Reporting and Parental Reporting

Alejandra Caqueo-Urízar et al. Behav Sci (Basel). .

Abstract

(1) Background: Discrepancies between children's self-reports and their parents' reports on mental health indicators are associated with measurement errors or informant bias. However, they are a valuable tool in understanding the course of child psychopathology. This study aims to determine the level of discrepancies between parents' perceptions and children's self-reports in mental health indicators in Northern Chile. (2) Methods: A System of Evaluation of Children and Adolescents self-report (Sistema de Evaluación de Niños y Adolescentes, SENA) was responded to by 408 students between 8 and 13 years old and their parents. (3) Results: Children reported a significantly higher frequency of emotional problems, defiant behavior, and executive functions as compared to their parents' responses. (4) Conclusions: There is a disjunction between the report of parents and children, which could originate in poor family communication.

Keywords: SENA); mental health; multiple informant approach; parent–child discrepancies; system of evaluation of children and adolescents (sistema de evaluación de niños y adolescentes.

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Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare no conflict of interest.

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