The Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire (SDQ) - Self-Report. An analysis of its structure in a multiethnic urban adolescent sample

Journal of Child Psychology and PsychiatryVolume 52, Issue 9 p. 1002-1011 The Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire (SDQ) – Self-Report. An analysis of its structure in a multiethnic urban adolescent sample Jörg Richter, Jörg Richter Centre for Child and Adolescent Mental Health Eastern and Southern Norway, Oslo, NorwaySearch for more papers by this authorÅse Sagatun, Åse Sagatun Centre for Child and Adolescent Mental Health Eastern and Southern Norway, Oslo, NorwaySearch for more papers by this authorSonja Heyerdahl, Sonja Heyerdahl Centre for Child and Adolescent Mental Health Eastern and Southern Norway, Oslo, NorwaySearch for more papers by this authorBrit Oppedal, Brit Oppedal Norwegian Institute of Public Health, Oslo, NorwaySearch for more papers by this authorEspen Røysamb, Espen Røysamb Norwegian Institute of Public Health, Oslo, Norway Department of Psychology, University of Oslo, Oslo, NorwaySearch for more papers by this author Jörg Richter, Jörg Richter Centre for Child and Adolescent Mental Health Eastern and Southern Norway, Oslo, NorwaySearch for more papers by this authorÅse Sagatun, Åse Sagatun Centre for Child and Adolescent Mental Health Eastern and Southern Norway, Oslo, NorwaySearch for more papers by this authorSonja Heyerdahl, Sonja Heyerdahl Centre for Child and Adolescent Mental Health Eastern and Southern Norway, Oslo, NorwaySearch for more papers by this authorBrit Oppedal, Brit Oppedal Norwegian Institute of Public Health, Oslo, NorwaySearch for more papers by this authorEspen Røysamb, Espen Røysamb Norwegian Institute of Public Health, Oslo, Norway Department of Psychology, University of Oslo, Oslo, NorwaySearch for more papers by this author First published: 18 March 2011 https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1469-7610.2011.02372.xCitations: 67 Conflict of interest statement: No conflicts declared. Read the full textAboutPDF ToolsRequest permissionExport citationAdd to favoritesTrack citation ShareShare Give accessShare full text accessShare full-text accessPlease review our Terms and Conditions of Use and check box below to share full-text version of article.I have read and accept the Wiley Online Library Terms and Conditions of UseShareable LinkUse the link below to share a full-text version of this article with your friends and colleagues. Learn more.Copy URL Share a linkShare onFacebookTwitterLinked InRedditWechat Abstract Background: The SDQ is currently one of the internationally most frequently used screening instruments for child and adolescent mental health purposes. However, its structure, cross-cultural equivalence, and its applicability in ethnic minority groups is still a matter of discussion. Methods: SDQ self-report data of 5,379 ethnic Norwegian and 865 ethnic minority adolescents with a variety of national origins was analysed by means of confirmatory factor analysis (CFA). Multi-group comparisons considering equal thresholds combined with more in-depth analyses on factor loadings, residuals, composite reliability, and average amount of variance explained by indicators of respective constructs were performed. Results: CFA suggested a good fit of the five-factor model of the SDQ self-report in the subsample of ethnic Norwegian adolescents and an acceptable fit in ethnic minority subsamples without substantial differences between ethnic Norwegian SDQ data and data of Pakistani or those of 'other ethnic minority' adolescents. When assuming equal thresholds between response categories of the items as well as equal factor loadings the structure in the data significantly differed between ethnic Norwegian and both ethnic minority samples. Some factor loadings and some correlations between constructs significantly differed between ethnic Norwegian and both ethnic minority samples. The correlation coefficients between the hyperactivity factor and the conduct problems factor were too high in all three subsamples in order to establish distinct constructs. Composite reliability and average explained variance of the emotional symptoms factor were good in all samples, whereas they were low for some of the other factors. Conclusions: To some extent the theoretically proposed five-factor structure of the Norwegian version of the SDQ self-report was supported in 15- to 16-year-old adolescents. However, the results of more detailed analyses raise questions about the interpretation of some subscales. When applying this screening method to Norwegian adolescents, our results suggest that the use of the total difficulty score of the SDQ in screening youth should be preferred over the subscale scores. Citing Literature Volume52, Issue9September 2011Pages 1002-1011 RelatedInformation