[Validation of the Turkish versions of the short-form Conners' teacher and parent rating scales].

OBJECTIVES: To investigate factorial and criterion validity as well as reliability of the Turkish translations of the 28-item Conners' Teacher Rating Scale (CTRS) and 48-item Conners' Parent Rating Scale (CPRS), which both measure attention deficit, hyperactivity, and conduct problems in children, through a series of studies conducted with either normal or clinical samples.

METHOD: Normal sample data for the teacher and parent rating scales were collected at several elementary schools in Ankara through 2 different studies. The teacher rating scale sample consisted of 1539 pupils rated by their teachers, and the parent scale sample consisted of 954 pupils rated by their parents. The clinical sample consisted of 270 children diagnosed with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), oppositional defiant disorder (ADD), and/or conduct disorder (CD), who were rated by a child psychiatrist on a DSM-IV criteria form, as well as by their parents and teachers on the respective Conners' rating scales (CRS). The patients' clinical criteria scores related to these diagnostic categories were used to evaluate, and if necessary, to modify item content of the corresponding subscales.

RESULTS: Turkish versions of the CTRS and CPRS demonstrated good internal consistency as indicated by Cronbach's alpha coefficients of .95 and .90, respectively. Factor analytical data from the normal sample studies supported the construct validity of both Turkish CRS despite non-differentiation of the conduct factor from the hyperactivity factor on the teacher scale. The clinical criteria scores suggested the necessity of adapting the item content of all the subscales, except the hyperactivity subscale.

CONCLUSION: The adapted and original subscales of the CRS Turkish forms demonstrated such psychometric properties that they could be employed in assessing attention deficit and disruptive behavior disorders in Turkish children.