Because a core set of the items have been included in every version of the CBCL since the 1980s, it provides a meter stick for measuring whether amounts of behavior problems have changed over time or across societies.
This is a helpful complement to other approaches for looking at rates of mental-health issues, as the definitions of disorders have changed repeatedly over the same time frame.
This delineation differs from the instructions on other age-versions, due to the fact that rapid development and behavioral changes in the preschool age range are common.
After 2001, the CBCL also included a set of "DSM-oriented" scales,[9][10] made of items that a panel of experts picked as matching parts of the diagnostic criteria for DSM-IV disorders.
The CBCL also has a few items that only contribute to the Total score, which were considered clinically important even though too rare to lump into the syndrome scales.
[13] Though research evaluating its usefulness has used different cutoffs, and has examined both the attention deficit/hyperactivity problems subscale as well as other CBCL subscales, results have generally shown high levels of sensitivity, indicating that the CBCL can successfully identify between 71 percent and 84 percent of individuals with ADHD as positive for the disorder.
[13] Another 2024 systematic review found that while the CBCL has good diagnostic performance, results can vary depending on the subscale used and the population being assessed.