Applicability of Rutter-B Scale for completion by teachers was assessed on a representative sample of 963 school children between the ages of 4-11 yrs. The findings revealed that at the recommended cut-off score of 9, the scale has low sensitivity (51.8%) and very low specificity (34.1%). Concordance between assessment by Rutter-B Scale and clinical assessment to pick up psychiatric disorder was 33.6%. Limitations of the scale as a screening instrument in child psychiatry epidemiology are discussed.
