[Behavioral dimensions and behavior problems in 2 1/2-year-old children].

The present article gives a literature review on rating scales and psychometric instruments used for behavior rating in infants and toddlers. The results of gender specific factor analysis in a German normative sample of 2 1/2 year old children (N = 751) are compared to Achenbach's syndrome scales of the CBCL 2-3. In contrast to psychiatric diagnostic manuals (DSM-IV, ICD-10), which currently do not provide correct descriptions of the developmental psychopathology in this age group an empirically derived classification of age specific behavior is presented. Our own factor analysis replicated identically Achenbach's sleep-problem-scale for this age group and came very next to Achenbach's syndrome scales. A comparison of the published international normative samples for the CBCL 2-3 shows, that the results in the Netherlands, in the United States and Canada are not statistically different from our German group. In the context of developmental psychopathology we prognose gender specific factor solutions derived from a normative sample and not from a clinical population. Psychometric data of these different versions are presented and discussed from a child psychiatrists view on developmental psychopathology.