Preschool Behavior Questionnaire

Child's abacus

The Preschool Behavior Questionnaire (PBQ) was developed as a screening instrument for easy use by mental health professionals and teachers as a first step in identifying preschoolers who show symptoms, or constellations of symptoms, that suggest the emergence of emotional problems. In considering criteria for the development of this scale, it seemed important that the instrument not only show validity in discriminating between normal and deviant populations, but also both inter-rater and test-retest reliability. To be applicable to all preschoolers, it seemed the scale should be standardized across a range of preschoolers, aged three to six, male and female, black and white. Most importantly, the scale itself should be brief so that a professional could conveniently use it.

The PBQ is a modification of items in the Children's Behavior Questionnaire, a checklist standardized by Michael Rutter in England in 1967 for use with elementary school-aged boys.

The Preschool Behavior Questionnaire is also available in Spanish, Hebrew and Turkish.

A sample of the questionnaire is available in Adobe PDF format. You can download by clicking here.

Copies of the PBQ may be ordered as follows:

Manual $10.00 each
50 Answer Sheets and 50 Score Sheets $20.00
Postage & Handling (Priority mail) $5.00
Total $35
Please send requests to
Lenore Behar, Ph.D.
Child & Family Program Strategies
1821 Woodburn Road, Durham, NC 27705
Tel: 919.489.1888
Email: contact@lenorebehar.com

Recent Citations for the Preschool Behavior Questionnaire

  1. Koeppen-Schomerus, G., Spinath, F. M., & Plomin, R. (2003). Twins and Non-twin Siblings: Different Estimates of Shared Environmental Influence in Early Childhood. Twin Research, 6(2), 97-105.
  2. Page, T., & Bretherton, I. (2003). Gender Differences in Stories of Violence and Caring by Preschool Children in Post-Divorce Families: Implications for Social Competence. Child & Adolescent Social Work Journal, 20(6), 485-508.
  3. Miller, A. L., Gouley, K. K., Seifer, R., Dickstein, S., & Shields, A. (2004). Emotions and behaviors in the head start classroom: Associations among observed dysregulation, social competence, and preschool adjustment. Early Education and Development, 15(2), 147-165.
  4. Yochman, A., Parush, S., & Ornoy, A. (2004). Responses of preschool children with and without ADHD to sensory events in daily life. American Journal of Occupational Therapy, 58(3), 294-302.
  5. Charlebois, P., Brendgen, M., Vitaro, F., Normandeau, S., & Boudreau, J.-F. (2004). Examining dosage effects on prevention outcomes: Results from a multi-modal longitudinal preventive intervention for young disruptive boys. Journal of School Psychology, 42(3), 201-220.
  6. Cai, X., Kaiser, A. P., & Hancock, T. B. (2004). Parent and Teacher Agreement on Child Behavior Checklist Items in a Sample of Preschoolers From Low-Income and Predominantly African American Families. Journal of Clinical Child and Adolescent Psychology, 33(2), 303-312.
  7. Hagekull, B., & Hammarberg, A. (2004). The role of teachers' perceived control and children's characteristics in interactions between 6-year-olds and their teachers. Scandinavian Journal of Psychology, 45(4), 301-312.
  8. Charlebois, P., Vitaro, F., Normandeau, S., Brendgen, M., & Rondeau, N. (2004). Trainers' Behavior and Participants' Persistence in a Longitudinal Preventive Intervention for Disruptive Boys. The Journal of Primary Prevention, 25(3), 375-388.
  9. Silver, R. B., Measelle, J. R, Armstrong, J. M., & Essex, M. J. (2005). Trajectories of classroom externalizing behavior: Contributions of child characteristics, family characteristics, and the teacher-child relationship during the school transition. Journal of School Psychology, 43(1), 39-60.
  10. Carbonneau, R., Tremblay, R. E., Vitaro, F., & Saucier, J.-F. (2005). Can Teachers' Behavior Ratings Be Used to Screen Early Adolescent Boys for Psychiatric Diagnoses? Psychopathology, 38(3), 112-123.
  11. Beaumont, C., Royer, É., Bertrand, R., & Bowen, F. (2005). Les effets d'un programme adapté de médiation par les pairs auprès d'élèves en trouble de comportement [The effects of an adapted peer-mediation program in 6 students with conduct disorder]. Canadian Journal of Behavioural Science/Revue canadienne des sciences du comportement, 37(3), 198-210.
  12. Findlay, L. C., Girardi, A., & Coplan, R. J. (2006). Links between empathy, social behavior, and social understanding in early childhood. Early Childhood Research Quarterly, 21(3), 347-359. ;
  13. Lyons-Ruth, K., & Easterbrooks, M. A. (2006). Assessing mediated models of family change in response to infant home visiting: A two-phase longitudinal analysis. Infant Mental Health Journal, 27(1), 55-69.
  14. Yochman, A., Ornoy, A., & Parush, S. (2006). Perceptuomotor functioning in preschool children with symptoms of attention deficit hyperactivity disorder. Perceptual and Motor Skills, 102(1), 175-186.
  15. Keown, L. J., & Woodward, L. J. (2006). Preschool Boys with Pervasive Hyperactivity: Early Peer Functioning and Mother-Child Relationship Influences. Social Development, 15(1), 23-45.
  16. Bornstein, M. H., Hahn, C.-S., Gist, N. F., & Haynes, O. M. (2006). Long-term cumulative effects of childcare on children's mental development and socioemotional adjustment in a non-risk sample: The moderating effects of gender. Early Child Development and Care, 176(2), 129-156.
  17. Diesendruck, G., & Ben-Eliyahu, A. (2006). The relationships among social cognition, peer acceptance, and social behavior in Israeli kindergartners. International Journal of Behavioral Development, 30(2), 137-147.
  18. Yochman, A., Ornoy, A., & Parush, S. (2006). Co-occurrence of developmental delays among preschool children with attention-deficit-hyperactivity disorder. Developmental Medicine & Child Neurology, 48(6), 483-488.
  19. Brendgen, M., Vitaro, F., Boivin, M., Dionne, G., & Pérusse, D. (2006). Examining genetic and environmental effects on reactive versus proactive aggression. Developmental Psychology, 42(6), 1299-1312.
  20. Smidts, D. P., & Oosterlaan, J. (2007). How common are symptoms of ADHD in typically developing preschoolers? A study on prevalence rates and prenatal/demographic risk factors. Cortex: A Journal Devoted to the Study of the Nervous System and Behavior, 43(6), 710-717.
  21. Baillargeon, R. H., Normand, C. L., Séguin, J. R., Zoccolillo, M., Japel, C., Pérusse, D., Tremblay, R. E. (2007). The Evolution of Problem and Social Competence Behaviors During Toddlerhood: A Prospective Population-Based Cohort Survey. Infant Mental Health Journal, 28(1), 12-38.
  22. Dworzynski, K., Remington, A., Rijsdijk, F., Howell, P., & Plomin, R. (2007). Genetic etiology in cases of recovered and persistent stuttering in an unselected longitudinal sample of young twins. American Journal of Speech-Language Pathology, 16(2), 169-178.
  23. Drugli, M. B., Larsson, B., Clifford, G., & Fossum, S. (2007). Pervasive and non-pervasive conduct problems in a clinic sample aged 4-8 years: Child, family and day-care/school factors. Scandinavian Journal of Educational Research, 51(5), 547-559.
  24. Brendgen, M., Wanner, B., & Vitaro, F. (2007). Peer and teacher effects on the early onset of sexual intercourse. American Journal of Public Health, 97(11), 2070-2075.
  25. Handen, B. L., & Valdes, L. (2007). Preschoolers with developmental disabilities: A comparison of an ADHD and a nonADHD group. Journal of Developmental and Physical Disabilities, 19(6), 579-592.
  26. Zahn-Waxler, C., Park, J.-H., Usher, B., Belouad, F., Cole, P., & Gruber, R. (2008). Young children's representations of conflict and distress: A longitudinal study of boys and girls with disruptive behavior problems. Development and Psychopathology, 20(1), 99-119.
  27. Brendgen, M., Boivin, M., Vitaro, F., Girard, A., Dionne, G., & Pérusse, D. (2008). Gene-environment interaction between peer victimization and child aggression. Development and Psychopathology, 20(2), 455-471.
  28. Geurts, H. M., & Embrechts, M. (2008). Language profiles in ASF, SLI, and ADHD. Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders, 38(10), 1931-1943
  29. Athanassiadou, E., Tsiantis, J., Christogiorgos, S., & Kolaitis, G. (2008). An evaluation of the effectiveness of psychological preparation of children for minor surgery by puppet play and brief mother counseling. Psychotherapy and Psychosomatics, 78(1), 62-63.
  30. Ewing, A. R., & Taylor, A. R. (2009). The role of child gender and ethnicity in teacher-child relationship quality and children's behavioral adjustment in preschool. Early Childhood Research Quarterly, 24(1), 92-105.
  31. Fossum, S., Mørch, W.-T., Handegård, B. H., Drugli, M. B., & Larsson, B. (2009). Parent training for young Norwegian children with ODD and CD problems: Predictors and mediators of treatment outcome. Scandinavian Journal of Psychology, 50(2), 173-181.
  32. Lyons-Ruth, K., Bureau, J.-F., Riley, C. D., & Atlas-Corbett, A. F. (2009). Socially indiscriminate attachment behavior in the strange situation: Convergent and discriminant validity in relation to caregiving risk, later behavior problems, and attachment insecurity. Development and Psychopathology, 21(2), 355-372.
  33. Séguin, J. R., Parent, S., Tremblay, R. E., & Zelazo, P. D. (2009). Different neurocognitive functions regulating physical aggression and hyperactivity in early childhood. Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry, 50(6), 679-687.
  34. Gauchat, A., Zadra, A., Tremblay, R. E., Zelazo, P. D., & Séguin, J. R. (2009). Recurrent dreams and psychosocial adjustment in preteenaged children. Dreaming, 19(2), 75-84.
  35. Kochanska, G., Barry, R. A., Jimenez, N. B., Hollatz, A. L., & Woodard, J. (2009). Guilt and effortful control: Two mechanisms that prevent disruptive developmental trajectories. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 97(2), 322-333.
  36. Côté, S. M., Boivin, M., Liu, X., Nagin, D. S., Zoccolillo, M., & Tremblay, R. E. (2009). Depression and anxiety symptoms: Onset, developmental course and risk factors during early childhood. Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry, 50(10), 1201-1208.
  37. Najmi, S., Bureau, J.-F., Chen, D., & Lyons-Ruth, K. (2009). Maternal attitudinal inflexibility: Longitudinal relations with mother-infant disrupted interaction and childhood hostile-aggressive behavior problems. Child Abuse & Neglect, 33(12), 924-932.
  38. Spilt, J. L., Koomen, H. M. Y., Thijs, J. T., Stoel, R. D., & van der Leij, A. (2010). Teachers' assessment of antisocial behavior in kindergarten: Physical aggression and measurement bias across gender. Journal of Psychoeducational Assessment, 28(2), 129-138.
  39. Drugli, M. B., Fossum, S., Larsson, B., & Morch, W.-T. (2010). Characteristics of young children with persistent conduct problems 1 year after treatment with the Incredible Years program. European Child & Adolescent Psychiatry, 19(7), 559-565.
  40. Kochanska, G., Woodard, J., Kim, S., Koenig, J. L., Yoon, J. E., & Barry, R. A. (2010). Positive socialization mechanisms in secure and insecure parent child dyads: Two longitudinal studies. Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry, 51(9), 998-1009.
  41. Slemming, K., Sørensen, M. J., Thomsen, P. H., Obel, C., Henriksen, T. B., & Linnet, K. M. (2010). The association between preschool behavioural problems and internalizing difficulties at age 10-12 years. European Child & Adolescent Psychiatry, 19(10), 787-795.
  42. Kilian, R., Losert, C., Park, A.-L., McDaid, D., & Knapp, M. (2010). Cost-effectiveness analysis in child and adolescent mental health problems: An updated review of literature. The International Journal of Mental Health Promotion, 12(4), 45-57.
  43. Bornstein, M. H., Hahn, C.-S., & Haynes, O. M. (2010). Social competence, externalizing, and internalizing behavioral adjustment from early childhood through early adolescence: Developmental cascades. Development and Psychopathology, 22(4), 717-735.
  44. Gassman-Pines, A. (2011). Low-income mothers' nighttime and weekend work: Daily associations with child behavior, mother-child interactions, and mood. Family Relations: An Interdisciplinary Journal of Applied Family Studies, 60(1), 15-29.