Revisiting the 8-syndrome of the Child Behavior Checklist (CBCL) in 67257 Chinese school students

The 8-Syndrome structure of the Child Behavior Checklist (CBCL) has been well supported globally, but its validity in the Chinese sample remains untested. A total of 67,257 school students aged 6–16 were included. The Chinese version of the CBCL consists of 118 specific behavioral and emotional items, with two open-ended screening items. Confirmatory factor analysis (CFA), cluster analysis, and network analysis were employed to test the 8-Syndrome structure in the Chinese CBCL. The Chinese CBCL showed a comparative fit index (CFI) of 0.734, indicating poor fit in the Chinese sample. Cluster and network analyses suggested that Anxious/Depressed (AD), Withdrawn/Depressed (WD), and Thought Problems (TP) might form internalizing factors (representing emotional or thought problems), whereas Aggressive Behavior (AB), Rule-Breaking Behavior (RBB), and Attention Problems (AP) might comprise externalizing factors (representing behavioral problems). Age emerged as a significant factor influencing emotional and behavioral problems in the Chinese sample (p < 0.05). The 8-Syndrome structure of the Chinese CBCL did not fit well, prompting the need for further exploration and possible restructuring across different samples. Definitions of Internalizing and Externalizing factors may require refinement and age considerations should be integrated into future revisions of the CBCL structure.