title: The Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire-Parents for Italian School-Aged Children: Psychometric Properties and Norms.
abstract: The Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire [SDQ; (1)] is a multi-informant instrument for screening developmental psychopathology. This study contributes to the validation of the Italian SDQ-Parent version (SDQ-P), analyzing its factorial structure, providing norms and investigating cross-informant agreement (parents-teachers). The SDQ-P and the SDQ-Teacher version (SDQ-T) were completed for 1917 primary and middle school students. Confirmatory factor analyses were performed to compare two factorial structures: the original five-factor model and the structure obtained in a past Italian study (2). The original model showed the best fit. Significant differences by gender and school grade were found; norms were provided separately for males and females attending 1st-2nd, 3rd-5th and 6th-8th grades. Finally, the analysis of parent-teacher agreement showed correlations ranging from small (prosocial behavior) to large (hyperactivity-inattention). This study offers some reflections on the best way to use this instrument in a community sample.
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychology, University of Milan-Bicocca, Piazza dell'Ateneo Nuovo 1, 20126, Milano, Italy. valentina.tobia@unimib.it.
authors.forename: Valentina
authors.initials: V
authors.lastname: Tobia
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychology, University of Milan-Bicocca, Piazza dell'Ateneo Nuovo 1, 20126, Milano, Italy.|Centro per l'Età Evolutiva, Via Giuseppe Verdi, 24121, Bergamo, Italy.
authors.forename: Gian Marco
authors.initials: GM
authors.lastname: Marzocchi
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D002648:Child; D005163:Factor Analysis, Statistical; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D006948:Hyperkinesis; D007558:Italy; D007802:Language; D008297:Male; D001523:Mental Disorders / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000523:psychology; D010290:Parents / Q000523:psychology; D011594:Psychometrics; D011599:Psychopathology; D015203:Reproducibility of Results; D000070777:School Teachers / Q000523:psychology; D012919:Social Behavior; D013334:Students / Q000523:psychology; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires
keywords: Cross-informant agreement; Italian norms; Parents; Psychometric properties; Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire