Diseño y aplicación de un cuestionario de detección precoz en salud mental infantil

Child mental health problems are frequent, complex and can lead to developmental risk. Prevention in mental health is a collective commitment, especially on the part of the institutions that care for early childhood: the school and the pediatric office. The aim of this paper is to validate an ad hoc instrument designed for early mental health screening in early childhood. The design of the instrument, called Detectar para Prevenir- Salud Mental Infantil-25 (DxP-SMI-25, Detect to Prevent- Children’s Mental Health-25), took into account previous literature and current limitations in early mental health screening. The content of the questionnaire was validated by means of expert judgment and the questionnaire was applied, together with the Ages & Statges Questionnaires: Social-Emotional-2, in order to obtain criterion validity. The designed instrument shows a good predisposition and allows a global assessment of development.