Behavioural problems in school children in the united Arab Emirates: cross-informant variance

ABSTRACT

Parents' reports and teachers' reports about children's behaviour were recorded using Rutter's Behaviour Scale for Parents and Rutter's Behaviour Scale for Teachers in 100 school children in Sharjah. United Arab Emirates. In this study, correlation between both informants' scores for individual items ranged from.62 [tears on arrival at school refuse] to. 10 [stomach ache vomiting] and for problem categories ranged from. 18 [emotional problems] to.36 [conduct problems] suggesting a lack of congruence among these two sources. It was also found that agreement between parents and teachers was better for conduct than for emotional problems. Our findings indicate the need for cross-informant assessment in behavioural research in children