SDQ Developmental Invariance
Developmental invariance is important for making valid inferences about child development from longitudinal data; however, tests of it are rare. We tested developmental and gender invariance for one of the most widely used measures of child mental health: the parent-reported Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire. Using data from the large UK population-representative Millennium Cohort Study (N= 11,315; with data at ages 3,5,7,11 and 14) we tested configural, metric and scalar invariance in emotional problems, conduct problems, hyperactivity/inattention, prosociality, and peer problems. We found scalar invariance held for all SDQ constructs longitudinally and across gender. Our results support the use of the SDQ for modelling the development of child mental health and related impairments over childhood and adolescence in mixed gender samples.