Validation of the Turkish Version of the Developmental Behaviour Checklist: A Comprehensive Tool for Assessing Emotional, Behavioral, and Autism Spectrum Disorders in Children and Adolescents with Intellectual Disabilities

Sabide Duygu Uygun ¹ Merve Cikili Uytun ¹ Hande Konşuk-Ünlü ² Ayşegül Akgül-Doğru ³ Serpil Aktaş-Altunay ⁴ Didem Behice Öztop ¹ Birim Günay Kılıç ⁵ Kerim Munir ^6*

• ¹ Department of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, Faculty of Medicine, Ankara University, Ankara, Sakarya, Türkiye
• ² Institute of Public Health, Hacettepe University, Ankara, Ankara, Türkiye
• ³ Department of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, Bitlis Tatvan State Hospital, Bitlis, Türkiye
• ⁴ Department of Statistics, Faculty of Science, Hacettepe University, Ankara, Ankara, Türkiye
• ⁵ Division of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, Private Clinic, Ankara, Türkiye
• ⁶ Division of Developmental Medicine, Boston Children's Hospital, Harvard Medical School, Boston, Massachusetts, United States

The Developmental Behaviour Checklist (DBC) is a standardized tool for evaluating emotional and behavioral concerns in children and adolescents with intellectual disabilities (ID) in clinical and research settings. This study aims to validate the Turkish versions of the DBC autism screening algorithm (ASA), parent (P) and teacher (T) forms.Methods: Parents and teachers of 312 children and adolescents aged 4-17 with ID completed the Turkish versions of the DBC forms and the Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire (SDQ). The presence of ASD or any other psychiatric disorder was assessed through clinical evaluation based on the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, Fifth Edition, Text Revision (DSM-5-TR) guidelines. Analyses of validity and reliability were conducted to evaluate the internal consistency, sensitivity, specificity, area under the curve (AUC), convergent validity, inter-rater reliability, and test-retest reliability. 82.7%. Additionally, 23.1% (n=45) were diagnosed with autism spectrum disorder (ASD). The DBC-ASA showed a sensitivity of 58.1%, a specificity of 64.6%, and an AUC of 61.3%. The DBC forms displayed strong internal consistency, robust test-retest reliability, and significant correlation with the SDQ measures. Inter-rater agreement between the DBC-P and DBC-T was low to moderate. A significant difference between parent and teacher assessments highlights the need for multi-informant approaches (p < .001).The DBC-P and DBC-T exhibit high validity and reliability, while the DBC-ASA shows moderate accuracy. This study acts as a valuable resource for clinicians, providing enhanced support for Turkish children and adolescents with ID.