scholarly journals Evaluating Measurement Invariance Between Parents Using the Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire (SDQ)

Assessment ◽  
2015 ◽  
Vol 23 (1) ◽  
pp. 63-74 ◽  
Author(s):  
Carlo Chiorri ◽  
James Hall ◽  
Jeffrey Casely-Hayford ◽  
Lars-Erik Malmberg
Keyword(s):  
Measurement Invariance ◽  
Strengths And Difficulties Questionnaire ◽  
Strengths And Difficulties

Measurement Invariance of the Parent Version of the Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire (SDQ) Across Community and Clinical Populations

2018 ◽  
Vol 34 (4) ◽  
pp. 238-246 ◽  
Author(s):  
Iris A. M. Smits ◽  
Meinou H. C. Theunissen ◽  
Sijmen A. Reijneveld ◽  
Maaike H. Nauta ◽  
Marieke E. Timmerman
Keyword(s):  
Measurement Invariance ◽  
Clinical Sample ◽  
Community Sample ◽  
Strengths And Difficulties Questionnaire ◽  
Emotional And Behavioral Problems ◽  
Clinical Settings ◽  
Favorable Result ◽  
Strengths And Difficulties ◽  
Parent Version ◽  
Clinical Populations

Abstract. The Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire (SDQ) is a popular screening instrument for the detection of social-emotional and behavioral problems in children in community and clinical settings. To sensibly compare SDQ scores across these settings, the SDQ should measure psychosocial difficulties and strengths in the same way across community and clinical populations, that is, the SDQ should be measurement invariant across both populations. We examined whether measurement invariance of the parent version of the SDQ holds using data from a community sample (N = 707) and a clinical sample (N = 931). The results of our analysis suggest that measurement invariance of the SDQ parent version across community and clinical populations is tenable, implying that one can compare the SDQ scores of children across these populations. This is a favorable result since it is common clinical practice to interpret the scores of a clinical individual relative to norm scores that are based on community samples. The findings of this study support the continued use of the parent version of the SDQ in community and clinical settings.

scholarly journals Does the Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire – self report yield invariant measurements across different nations? Data from the International Child Mental Health Study Group

2014 ◽  
Vol 24 (4) ◽  
pp. 323-334 ◽  
Author(s):  
D. Stevanovic ◽  
R. Urbán ◽  
O. Atilola ◽  
P. Vostanis ◽  
Y. P. Singh Balhara ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Measurement Invariance ◽  
Conduct Problems ◽  
Factor Model ◽  
Five Factor Model ◽  
Strengths And Difficulties Questionnaire ◽  
Self Report ◽  
Health Study ◽  
Prosocial Behaviour ◽  
Emotional Symptoms ◽  
Strengths And Difficulties

Aims.This study evaluated the measurement invariance of the strengths and difficulties questionnaire (SDQ) self-report among adolescents from seven different nations.Methods.Data for 2367 adolescents, aged 13–18 years, from India, Indonesia, Nigeria, Serbia, Turkey, Bulgaria and Croatia were available for a series of factor analyses.Results.The five-factor model including original SDQ scales emotional symptoms, conduct problems, hyperactivity–inattention problems, peer problems and prosocial behaviour generated inadequate fit degree in all countries. A bifactor model with three factors (i.e., externalising, internalising and prosocial) and one general problem factor yielded adequate degree of fit in India, Nigeria, Turkey and Croatia. The prosocial behaviour, emotional symptoms and conduct problems factor were found to be common for all nations. However, originally proposed items loaded saliently on other factors besides the proposed ones or only some of them corresponded to proposed factors in all seven countries.Conclusions.Due to the lack of a common acceptable model across all countries, namely the same numbers of factors (i.e., dimensional invariance), it was not possible to perform the metric and scalar invariance test, what indicates that the SDQ self-report models tested lack appropriate measurement invariance across adolescents from these seven nations and it needs to be revised for cross-country comparisons.

The Parent Version of the Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire

2013 ◽  
Vol 29 (1) ◽  
pp. 44-50 ◽  
Author(s):  
Lisanne L. Stone ◽  
Roy Otten ◽  
Linda Ringlever ◽  
Marieke Hiemstra ◽  
Rutger C. M. E. Engels ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Measurement Invariance ◽  
Factor Structure ◽  
Child Psychopathology ◽  
Strengths And Difficulties Questionnaire ◽  
Internal Reliability ◽  
Confirmatory Factor ◽  
Strengths And Difficulties ◽  
Meaningful Group ◽  
Dutch Sample ◽  
Parent Version

The Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire (SDQ) is a widely used screening instrument for child psychopathology. Many studies have consistently reported rather low α values for certain subscales for the SDQ parent version. Further, the factor structure has not been tested frequently by using confirmatory factor analysis (CFA); research into measurement invariance is even scarcer. Therefore, this study evaluates the internal reliability and tests for measurement invariance for the SDQ parent version. In a Dutch sample of 1,484 children we examined reliability by using coefficient ω and tested for invariance across several subgroups. Also, we conducted CFA to examine the five-factor structure of the SDQ. ω yielded higher values than α did, which supports the use of ω in a SEM-based framework. Support for measurement invariance was found on the configural, metric, and scalar level, and as expected, the five-factor structure was confirmed. Scholars are advised to consider ω as an alternative to α, seeing that various problems with α have been discussed. Support for measurement invariance was found for several demographic variables, so that meaningful group comparisons can now be made for the SDQ parent version.

scholarly journals Malaysian Parent Ratings of the Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire: Factor Structure and Measurement Invariance Across Language Versions, Gender, Informants, and Race

Assessment ◽  
2018 ◽  
Vol 27 (8) ◽  
pp. 1971-1984 ◽  
Author(s):  
Rapson Gomez ◽  
Vasileios Stavropoulos
Keyword(s):  
Factor Analysis ◽  
Measurement Invariance ◽  
Factor Model ◽  
Strengths And Difficulties Questionnaire ◽  
Racial Groups ◽  
Parent Ratings ◽  
Research Practice ◽  
Multiple Group ◽  
Confirmatory Factor ◽  
Strengths And Difficulties

For a Malaysian sample, the current study used exploratory factor analysis (EFA) to determine the best model for parent ratings of the Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire (SDQ), and then multiple-group confirmatory factor analysis (MCFA) to confirm this model, and to examine measurement invariance across different language versions (Malay and English), child’s gender (boys and girls), informants (mothers and fathers), and racial groups (Malay, Chinese, and Indians). In all 1,407 Malaysian parents completed SDQ ratings of their children (age ranging from 5 to 13 years). The EFA showed most support for a two-factor model oblique model, with factors for a positive construal factor and a psychopathology factor. CFA confirmed this model, and MCFA showed full measurement invariance (configural, metric. and scalar) across the groups in the different comparisons. For all comparisons, there were equivalencies for latent mean scores. The implications of the findings for clinical and research practice involving the SDQ in Malaysia are discussed.

scholarly journals Age Appropriateness of the Self-Report Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire

Assessment ◽  
2020 ◽  
pp. 107319112090338
Author(s):  
Louise Black ◽  
Rosie Mansfield ◽  
Margarita Panayiotou
Keyword(s):  
Measurement Invariance ◽  
Factor Structure ◽  
Structural Equation ◽  
Age Groups ◽  
Quality Criteria ◽  
The Self ◽  
Strengths And Difficulties Questionnaire ◽  
Self Report ◽  
Wide Range ◽  
Strengths And Difficulties

The self-report version of the Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire is widely used in clinical and research settings. However, the measure’s suitability for younger adolescents has recently been called into question by readability analysis. To provide further insight into the age-appropriateness of the self-report Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire, readability was assessed at the item level alongside consideration of item quality criteria, its factor structure was analyzed, and measurement invariance between adolescents in Year 7 (age 11-12 years) versus Year 9 (age 13-15 years) was tested. The measure showed a wide range of reading ages, and the theorized factor structure was unacceptable. Measurement invariance was therefore considered for a flexible exploratory structural equation model, and no evidence of differences between age groups was found. Suggestions are made for the measure’s revision based on these findings.

scholarly journals Psychometric Properties of the Dutch Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire (SDQ) in Adolescent Community and Clinical Populations

Assessment ◽  
2018 ◽  
Vol 27 (7) ◽  
pp. 1476-1489 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jorien Vugteveen ◽  
Annelies de Bildt ◽  
Marike Serra ◽  
Marianne S. de Wolff ◽  
Marieke E. Timmerman
Keyword(s):  
Measurement Invariance ◽  
Factor Structure ◽  
Mental Health Problems ◽  
Strengths And Difficulties Questionnaire ◽  
Community Settings ◽  
Community Based ◽  
Confirmatory Factor Analyses ◽  
Confirmatory Factor ◽  
Strengths And Difficulties ◽  
Sum Scores

This study assessed the factor structures of the Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire (SDQ) adolescent and parent versions and their measurement invariance across settings in clinical ( n = 4,053) and community ( n = 962) samples of Dutch adolescents aged 12 to 17 years. Per SDQ version, confirmatory factor analyses were performed to assess its factor structure in clinical and community settings and to test for measurement invariance across these settings. The results suggest measurement invariance of the presumed five-factor structure for the parent version and a six-factor structure for the adolescent version. Furthermore, evaluation of the SDQ scale sum scores as used in practice, indicated that working with sum scores yields a fairly reasonable approximation of working with the favorable but less easily computed factor scores. These findings suggest that adolescent- and parent-reported SDQ scores can be interpreted using community-based norm scores, regardless of whether the adolescent has been referred for mental health problems.

Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire: Psychometric Properties and Normative Data for Spanish 5- to 17-Year-Olds

Assessment ◽  
2020 ◽  
pp. 107319112091892 ◽  
Author(s):  
Gemma Español-Martín ◽  
Mireia Pagerols ◽  
Raquel Prat ◽  
Cristina Rivas ◽  
Laura Sixto ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Psychometric Properties ◽  
Measurement Invariance ◽  
Behavioral Problems ◽  
Normative Data ◽  
Child Behavior Checklist ◽  
Five Factor Model ◽  
Strengths And Difficulties Questionnaire ◽  
Self Report ◽  
Emotional And Behavioral Problems ◽  
Strengths And Difficulties

The Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire (SDQ) has been extensively used to measure common forms of psychopathology among children and adolescents. However, its psychometric properties vary across countries and several controversial issues warrant further investigation. This study aimed to evaluate whether the Spanish version of the SDQ is a reliable and valid tool for assessing emotional and behavioral problems in a sample of 6,775 students aged 5 to 17 years, as rated by parents, teachers, and youth. We examined the internal consistency of the questionnaire, its factor structure, and measurement invariance across child’s gender and age. Criterion validity was tested against the Child Behavior Checklist (CBCL), Teacher’s Report Form (TRF), and Youth Self-Report (YSR), and we measured the ability of the SDQ to identify children with specific psychiatric disorders. Finally, we provide, for the first time, Spanish normative data for children aged 5 to 10 and 11 to 17 years, according to gender and each informant. Our results revealed acceptable reliability estimates for all SDQ subscales. Confirmatory factor analysis supported the original five-factor model and full measurement invariance was found. Furthermore, SDQ scores showed a moderate to strong correlation with those on the equivalent CBCL/TRF/YSR scales, and were effective in discriminating individuals with and without clinical diagnoses.

The Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire: Factor Structure of the Father-Report and Parent Agreement in 2-Year-Old Children

Assessment ◽  
2017 ◽  
Vol 26 (6) ◽  
pp. 1059-1069 ◽  
Author(s):  
Stephanie D’Souza ◽  
Karen E. Waldie ◽  
Elizabeth R. Peterson ◽  
Lisa Underwood ◽  
Susan M. B. Morton
Keyword(s):  
Measurement Invariance ◽  
Factor Structure ◽  
Factor Model ◽  
Five Factor Model ◽  
Strengths And Difficulties Questionnaire ◽  
Growing Up ◽  
Modified Model ◽  
Mothers And Fathers ◽  
Confirmatory Factor ◽  
Strengths And Difficulties

There is limited research on the preschool version of the Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire (SDQ), and comparisons between mothers and fathers as informants and whether the factor structure shows measurement invariance across parents is lacking. Our study involved mothers ( n = 6,246) and fathers ( n = 3,759) of 2-year-old children from the Growing Up in New Zealand birth cohort. Confirmatory factor analysis was used to evaluate the factor structure of the SDQ and test for measurement invariance across mothers and fathers. For fathers, we found support for a modified five-factor model that accounts for a positive construal method effect. Internal consistency was good for measures except peer problems. Full measurement invariance of this modified model was found across mothers and fathers, and parents showed moderate agreement in their SDQ ratings (0.34 ≤ r ≤ 0.44). More research is needed on whether mother- and father-reports differ in sensitivity when screening for early childhood psychiatric disorders.

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