The goal of this study was to compare the results of the Home Situations Questionnaire (HSQ), which was answered by mothers of clinical and non-clinical children, in order to identify differences on the number of situations related to child compliance problems and the severity of these problems. Data were collected of 56 mothers of preschool children (aged from 3 to 6 years), with and without problems of oppositional behavior. The mothers answered to the Child Behavior Checklist (CBCL), for their distribution into groups, and to the HSQ. The clinical group presented an average of 3.2 more problem situations than the non-clinical group, and an average of 2.1 more points in severity scores. These differences were statistically significant, indicating the HSQ as a sensitive instrument for clinical diagnosis.
preschoolers; behavior problems; parents-children interaction; parents training
