Dataset Information

Spanish normative data of the Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire in a community-based sample of adolescents: Datos normativos espanoles del Cuestionario de capacidades y dificultades (SDQ) en una muestra comunitaria de adolescentes.

ABSTRACT: Background/Objective: The Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire self-report (SDQ-S) has been extensively used to assess mental health problems among children and adolescents. However, previous research has identified substantial age and country variation on its psychometric properties. The aim of this study was three-fold: i) to evaluate internal structure and measurement invariance of the Spanish version of the SDQ; ii) to analyze age and gender-specific effects on the SDQ subscales; and iii) to provide Spanish normative data for the entire age range of adolescence. Method: Data were derived from two representative samples of adolescents aged 14 to 19 years old, selected by stratified random cluster sampling years (N = 3378). Results: The reliability of the Total difficulties score was satisfactory, but some subscales showed lower levels of internal consistency. Confirmatory factor analysis supported the original five-factor model. Finally, results revealed that SDQ scores were influenced by the gender and the age of participants; thus, the normative banding scores and cut-off values were provided accordingly. Conclusions: This study validates the Spanish SDQ-S for the entire age range of adolescence. However, more cross-country and cross-age research is needed to better understand the inconsistent findings on SDQ reliability.

SUBMITTER: Ortuno-Sierra J

PROVIDER: S-EPMC9442435 | biostudies-literature | 2022 Sep-Dec

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature

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Spanish normative data of the Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire in a community-based sample of adolescents: Datos normativos españoles del Cuestionario de capacidades y dificultades (SDQ) en una muestra comunitaria de adolescentes.

Ortuño-Sierra Javier J Sebastián-Enesco Carla C Pérez-Albéniz Alicia A Lucas-Molina Beatriz B Fonseca-Pedrero Eduardo E

International journal of clinical and health psychology : IJCHP 20220829 3

<i>Background/Objective:</i> The Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire self-report (SDQ-S) has been extensively used to assess mental health problems among children and adolescents. However, previous research has identified substantial age and country variation on its psychometric properties. The aim of this study was three-fold: i) to evaluate internal structure and measurement invariance of the Spanish version of the SDQ; ii) to analyze age and gender-specific effects on the SDQ subscales; ...[more]

PMID: 36111263

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Project description:BackgroundThe Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire (SDQ) is widely used to screen for psychosocial problems among adolescents. As the severity of such problems is known to be related to age and gender, screening could be improved by interpreting SDQ scale scores with age-specific and perhaps gender-specific norms. Up to now, such norms are lacking. The aim of the current study is to present gender-specific and joint normative data per year of age for the Dutch self-reported and parent-reported SDQ versions for use among 12- to 17-year-old adolescents.MethodsThe norm groups for the self-reported and parent-reported SDQ versions consisted of 993 adolescents and 736 parents, respectively, from the general Dutch population. Per SDQ version, both gender-specific norms and joint norms (percentiles and cutoffs) per year of age were calculated through regression-based norming (Rigby in J Roy Stat Soc Ser C 54:507, 2005). Additionally, these norms were compared to the widely used British norms that are neither age-specific nor gender-specific.ResultsBy design, gender-specific 'abnormal' cutoffs (i.e., cutoffs aimed at identifying max. 10% of the most extremely scoring males and max. 10% of the most extremely scoring females) resulted in about equal percentages of 'abnormal' scoring male and female adolescents per SDQ scale. In contrast, joint 'abnormal' cutoffs (i.e., cutoffs aimed at identifying max. 10% of the most extremely scoring adolescents) resulted in relatively more male (7.6 to 13.6%, depending on age) than female (3.3 to 8.9%, depending on age) adolescents as scoring 'abnormal' on scales measuring externalizing behavior (self-reported and parent-reported SDQ versions), and relatively more female (3.9 to 14.3%, depending on age) than male (1.8 to 6.9%, depending on age) adolescents as scoring 'abnormal' on scales measuring internalizing behavior (self-reported SDQ version). In both types of norms, minor age effects were present. Among Dutch adolescents, the British norms yielded detection rates much lower than the expected 10%.ConclusionsOur findings indicate that detection rates depend on the reference group that is used (British or Dutch general adolescent population; specific gender group or not). The normative data in this paper facilitate the comparison of an adolescent's scores to different reference groups, and allow for cross-country/cultural comparisons of adolescents' psychosocial behavior.

Project description:BackgroundThe Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire (SDQ) is widely used to assess child and adolescent mental health problems. However, the factor structure of the SDQ is subject to debate and there is limited evidence investigating measurement equivalence invariance (ME/I) between treatment groups, informants, and across time.MethodA randomised controlled trial (RCT) recruited 250 participants (6-17 years) who had been referred for an attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) assessment. Participants and their clinician either received or did not receive a QbTest report (computer task measuring attention, impulsivity and activity). Parents and teachers completed the SDQ at baseline and 6-months later. This study aimed to understand the factor structure of the SDQ in a clinic referred ADHD sample, and validate the scale as a screening/diagnostic aide and as a measure of treatment outcome both in clinical and research settings. Exploratory Structural Equation Modelling (ESEM) was performed to examine the factor structure, and ME/I was assessed between treatment groups, informants, and time points. The criterion validity of the SDQ predictive algorithm for ADHD was compared with clinician and research diagnoses using logistic regression and tests of diagnostic accuracy.ResultsA 5-factor structure provided the best fit with strong factorial invariance between treatment groups and across time points, but not across informants (parent and teacher ratings). SDQ ratings of 'probable' hyperactivity disorder were good predictors of clinical (OR = 10.20, 95%CI 2.18-48.71,p = 0.003) and research diagnoses of ADHD (OR = 6.82, 95%CI 1.95-23.84,p = 0.003), and research diagnoses of Hyperkinetic disorder (OR = 4.02, 95%CI 1.13-14.25,p = 0.031). Further examination of the SDQ hyperactivity 'probable' rating showed good specificity (84.5%-74.5%) but poor sensitivity (45.0-42.5%) for ADHD.ConclusionThe findings indicate the SDQ is a valid outcome measure for use in RCTs and clinical settings. However, care should be taken when using the SDQ predictive algorithm to screen for ADHD in clinically referred samples.

Project description:Early identification of emotional and behavioural difficulties in very young children is crucial for intervention and prevention. The Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire (SDQ) is a widely used measure of child and adolescent mental health that is brief, cost-effective, and easy to administer. The aims of this study were to establish the validity and reliability of the preschool SDQ in UK 1-2-year-olds. This study investigated the psychometric properties of the Preschool SDQ in a large UK sample (N = 2040; female = 46.86%; male = 50.83%, sex not recorded = 2.30%) of infants and toddlers (1-2-year-olds). Analyses were performed at item-level (internal consistency, internal structure, measurement invariance) and scale-level (test-retest reliability, convergent validity). Similar to previous research, confirmatory factor analysis supported a slightly modified five-factor model, including the addition of a positive construal method factor, resulting in satisfactory data fit and a moderately good fitting model. Internal consistency (Cronbach's alpha) for the SDQ total difficulties score was satisfactory, and higher for externalising over internalising problems. Moderate to strong correlations indicated good test-retest reliability, and moderate correlations indicated convergent validity between the SDQ and Child Behavior Checklist (CBCL), but associations were weaker than those found in studies with older children.ConclusionsThe SDQ demonstrated satisfactory psychometric properties, suggesting that it may be a useful tool for the detection of early mental health difficulties, particularly externalising symptoms, even in very young toddlers. Further research is needed to validate the SDQ in younger populations and to establish cut-off scores for clinical interpretation. The implications of these findings are discussed.What is known• Clinically significant emotional and behavioural problems can and do emerge in early toddlerhood. • Parenting interventions can reduce mental health problems. • Valid, reliable, brief, and affordable tools are needed to identify very young children who may benefit from such support.What is new• The Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire was found to have acceptable factor structure and psychometric properties for use with young children aged 1-2 years old in the UK. • The externalising subscale in particular shows promise as an early screening tool.

Dataset Information

Spanish normative data of the Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire in a community-based sample of adolescents: Datos normativos espanoles del Cuestionario de capacidades y dificultades (SDQ) en una muestra comunitaria de adolescentes.

Publications

Spanish normative data of the Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire in a community-based sample of adolescents: Datos normativos españoles del Cuestionario de capacidades y dificultades (SDQ) en una muestra comunitaria de adolescentes.

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