Behavior and emotional problems among Jamaican children and adolescents: an epidemiological survey of parent, teacher, and self-reports for ages 6–18 years

The study compared general population samples of Jamaican children ages 6–18 years, via Jamaican versions of the Child Behavior Checklist (CBCL) parent-, teacher-, and self-report forms. Repeated measures ANOVAs with informant as a repeated measures factor, assessed base-rate problem score differences according to children’s area of residence (i.e., urban vs rural), gender, and age. No between subjects residence effects emerged for total problem score. However, adolescents self-reported higher total problem scores compared to the ratings they received from their parents and teachers. No gender total problem score effects emerged for any of the three informants, but girls received higher internalizing, and Somatic Complaints scores. Similar total problem scores across genders, and the high ratio of boys to girls in clinic samples suggest that Jamaican girls may not be receiving adequate services. Age X within subjects interactions revealed higher teacher reported problem scores for young adolescents, reflecting possible developmental changes within the classroom context and teachers’ low thresholds toward these problems. The d statistic revealed base rate syndrome, internalizing, externalizing, and total problem score differences in most Jamaican vs US sub-samples. In addition to the non-CBCL problems observed in earlier studies, these findings clearly indicate a need to ascertain syndrome structure and other psychometric properties of the Jamaican instruments.     

Who pays? Who benefits? Who decides?

This paper was presented at the symposium dedicated to the 25th anniversary of the publication of Patrons Despite Themselves: Taxpayers and Arts Policy (Feld et al. 1983), held by the Association for Cultural Economics International, Boston, June 2008. It considers alternative means of providing indirect tax-based state support of the arts, such as the use of tax credits as opposed to tax deductions for charitable contributions, matching grants, and support applied to specific projects. It also considers the problem of broad-based changes to tax policy that have unintended consequences for arts organizations.