Abstract:
The current study is an investigation of the dimensionality of the Preschool Feelings Checklist-Scale (PFC-S), a caregiver-report questionnaire of early childhood depressive symptom severity. Caregivers of 450 young children, ages 3-8 years (M = 5.62, SD = 0.95; 49% female; 7% Hispanic; 66% White), completed the PFC-S and questionnaires on child emotion regulation and expression and self-reported depressive symptomatology. Confirmatory factor analyses indicated that a one-factor structure did not adequately fit the current PFC-S data. Using exploratory factor analysis, a three-factor structure emerged as interpretable and structurally sound, yielding reliable factors related to social and behavioral anhedonia, emotional and behavioral dysregulation, and excessive guilt and sadness. This factor structure showed configural and scalar invariance across preschool-aged and early middle childhood-aged children as well as children assigned male and female sex at birth. Correlations between the three factors and constructs related to depression suggested preliminary construct validity. The current study provides initial evidence for a multidimensional structure of the PFC-S and improves our understanding of early childhood depressive symptoms.
摘要:
当前的研究是对学龄前情绪检查表量表(PFC-S)维度的调查,儿童早期抑郁症状严重程度的照顾者报告问卷。450名幼儿的照顾者,年龄3-8岁(M=5.62,SD=0.95;49%女性;7%西班牙裔;66%白人),完成了关于儿童情绪调节和表达以及自我报告的抑郁症状的PFC-S问卷。验证性因素分析表明,单因素结构不能充分拟合当前的PFC-S数据。采用探索性因子分析,一个三因素结构出现了可解释和结构上合理的,产生与社会和行为快感缺乏相关的可靠因素,情绪和行为失调,过度的内疚和悲伤。此因素结构显示出学龄前儿童和中年儿童以及出生时男女性别分配的儿童的结构和标量不变性。与抑郁相关的三个因素和结构之间的相关性表明了初步的结构效度。目前的研究为PFC-S的多维结构提供了初步证据,并提高了我们对儿童早期抑郁症状的理解。