Behavior and Emotional Problems of Clinic-Referred Children of the African Diaspora: A Cross-National Study of African American and Jamaican Children Ages 4 to 18

Societal factors influence the types of problems children of African descent exhibit and the steps adults take to ameliorate them. Cross-national research on children of African descent living in different nations can identify the societal issues associated with problems these children present, but few specifically focus on children of African descent. This article addresses these issues by surveying presenting problems in clinic records of 2,078 children of African descent in the United States and Jamaica. Recorders coded and categorized problems according to eight Child Behavior Checklist syndromes and internalizing (e.g., shyness) and externalizing (e.g., fighting) problems. ANCOVAs revealed significantly more problems for African American than Jamaican youth but the converse was true for severe problems. The findings suggest the need for further studies that test whether lower parental thresholds, a U.S. society that encourages more family openness, widely available treatment services within the United States, and stress associated with minority group membership may cause African American parents to report more child problems than Jamaican parents.