Psychometric properties of the strengths and difficulties questionnaire.
OBJECTIVE
To describe the psychometric properties of the Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire (SDQ), a brief measure of the prosocial behavior and psychopathology of 3-16-year-olds that can be completed by parents, teachers, or youths.


METHODS
A nationwide epidemiological sample of 10,438 British 5-15-year-olds obtained SDQs from 96% of parents, 70% of teachers, and 91% of 11-15-year-olds. Blind to the SDQ findings, all subjects were also assigned DSM-IVdiagnoses based on a clinical review of detailed interview measures.


RESULTS
The predicted five-factor structure (emotional, conduct, hyperactivity-inattention, peer, prosocial) was confirmed. Internalizing and externalizing scales were relatively "uncontaminated" by one another. Reliability was generally satisfactory, whether judged by internal consistency (mean Cronbach a: .73), cross-informant correlation (mean: 0.34), or retest stability after 4 to 6 months (mean: 0.62). SDQ scores above the 90th percentile predicted a substantially raised probability of independently diagnosed psychiatric disorders (mean odds ratio: 15.7 for parent scales, 15.2 for teacher scales, 6.2 for youth scales).


CONCLUSIONS
The reliability and validity of the SDQ make it a useful brief measure of the adjustment and psychopathology of children and adolescents.
Goodman
R
R
Department of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, Institute of Psychiatry, Kings College London, England. r.goodman@iop.kcl.ack.uk
D000293:Adolescent; D000342:Affective Symptoms / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000523:psychology; D001289:Attention Deficit Disorder with Hyperactivity / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000523:psychology; D002648:Child; D002653:Child Behavior Disorders / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000523:psychology; D002675:Child, Preschool; D005260:Female; D005500:Follow-Up Studies; D006801:Humans; D007389:Internal-External Control; D008297:Male; D010552:Personality Assessment / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D011594:Psychometrics; D015203:Reproducibility of Results; D012919:Social Behavior