The Carolina Child Checklist of Risk and Protective Factors for Aggression

Objective: Extending the Social Health Profile and other instruments that measure problem behavior in childhood, the Carolina Child Checklist (CCC) was developed to measure risk and protective factors related to aggressive behavior in children ages 6 to 12. This study reports the psychometric properties of the CCC. Method: The measure’s dimensionality, reliability (internal consistency and test-retest), standard error of measurement, and validity (convergent, concurrent, treatment sensitivity) were evaluated in a project involving 171 sixth-grade students. Results: Factor analysis indicated four dimensions called Learning Orientation (behaviors and attributes related to classroom success), Relational Aggression, Social Involvement, and Physical Aggression. The measure has high internal consistency with low measurement error. Test-retest findings suggest a stable measure. The CCC has good convergent and concurrent validity and appears sensitive to treatment effects. Conclusions: The CCC is a promising measure for social workers assessing risk and protective factors related to childhood aggression.