Background
Methods
Participants and data collection
Normative sample
Grade | SDQ parent ratings (n = 24,519) | SDQ teacher ratings (n = 7,977) | ||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Boys | % | Girls | % | Boys | % | Girls | % | |
1 | 1,792 | 14.4 | 1,633 | 13.6 | 526 | 13.1 | 519 | 13.1 |
2 | 1,662 | 13.3 | 1,514 | 12.6 | 547 | 13.6 | 540 | 13.6 |
3 | 1,526 | 12.2 | 1,541 | 12.8 | 481 | 12.0 | 485 | 12.2 |
4 | 1,479 | 11.9 | 1,506 | 12.5 | 509 | 12.7 | 506 | 12.8 |
5 | 1,562 | 12.5 | 1,382 | 11.5 | 499 | 12.4 | 478 | 12.0 |
6 | 1,321 | 10.6 | 1,334 | 11.1 | 484 | 12.1 | 486 | 12.3 |
7 | 1,162 | 9.3 | 1,186 | 9.8 | 346 | 8.6 | 343 | 8.6 |
8 | 1,100 | 8.8 | 1,136 | 9.4 | 316 | 7.9 | 307 | 7.7 |
9 | 868 | 7.0 | 815 | 6.8 | 302 | 7.5 | 303 | 7.6 |
Total | 12,472 | 12,047 | 4,010 | 3,967 |
Validation sample
Measures
Strengths and difficulties questionnaire
Child behavioral checklist
ADHD-rating scale-IV
Ethical considerations
Statistical analysis
Results
Population distribution, and gender and age effects
Boys | Girls | Gender effect (p, r) | 7-9 years | 10-12 years | 13-15 years | Age effect (p, Cramer’s V) | ||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
SDQ |
M
| (SD) |
M
| (SD) |
M
| (SD) |
M
| (SD) |
M
| (SD) | ||
Parent ratings
| (n = 12,472) | (n = 12,047) | (n = 9,968) | (n = 8,584) | (n = 6,267) | |||||||
Total difficulties | 8.02 | (5.26) | 7.11 | (4.76) |
‡
| 8.39 | (5.09) | 7.20 | (4.94) | 6.82 | (4.94) |
a‡ b‡ c‡, 0.15
|
Emotional symptoms | 1.31 | (1.67) | 1.49 | (1.76) |
‡
| 1.59 | (1.77) | 1.33 | (1.67) | 1.21 | (1.68) |
a‡ b‡ c‡, 0.11
|
Conduct problems | 1.92 | (1.59) | 1.70 | (1.43) |
‡
| 2.01 | (1.57) | 1.74 | (1.50) | 1.62 | (1.43) |
a‡ b‡ c‡, 0.12
|
Hyperactivity/inattention | 3.23 | (2.30) | 2.49 | (1.98) |
‡
| 3.27 | (2.26) | 2.69 | (2.13) | 2.49 | (2.00) |
a‡ b‡ c‡, 0.16
|
Peer problems | 1.55 | (1.69) | 1.42 | (1.50) |
‡
| 1.52 | (1.57) | 1.44 | (1.58) | 1.51 | (1.68) |
a‡
|
Prosocial behavior | 5.80 | (2.15) | 6.50 | (2.08) |
‡
| 6.18 | (2.10) | 6.26 | (2.15) | 5.91 | (2.20) |
a† b‡ c‡
|
Teacher ratings
| (n = 4,010) | (n = 3,967) | (n = 3,098) | (n = 2,962) | (n = 1,917) | |||||||
Total difficulties | 6.37 | (5.80) | 3.95 | (4.50) | ‡, 0.24 | 5.74 | (5.70) | 4.94 | (5.22) | 4.58 | (4.79) |
a‡ c‡
|
Emotional symptoms | 0.82 | (1.48) | 0.77 | (1.42) |
†
| 0.93 | (1.55) | 0.76 | (1.44) | 0.64 | (1.23) |
a‡ b‡ c†
|
Conduct problems | 1.20 | (1.68) | 0.68 | (1.22) |
‡
| 1.06 | (1.61) | 0.90 | (1.45) | 0.81 | (1.35) |
a† c‡
|
Hyperactivity/inattention | 2.89 | (2.67) | 1.37 | (1.76) | ‡, 0.31 | 2.46 | (2.60) | 2.01 | (2.32) | 1.79 | (2.04) |
a‡ c‡
|
Peer problems | 1.47 | (1.86) | 1.13 | (1.56) |
‡
| 1.30 | (1.71) | 1.28 | (1.75) | 1.34 | (1.73) | |
Prosocial behavior | 5.73 | (2.74) | 7.14 | (2.49) | ‡, 0.26 | 6.47 | (2.68) | 6.48 | (2.70) | 6.28 | (2.76) |
c†
|
Normative banding and cut-off score
7-9 years | 10-12 years | 13-15 years | |||||||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
SDQ | Boys | Girls | Boys | Girls | Boys | Girls | |||||||
Raw score (%) | Raw score (%) | Raw score (%) | Raw score (%) | Raw score (%) | Raw score (%) | ||||||||
Parent rating | Normal | 0-13 | 82.0% | 0-11 | 81.0% | 0-11 | 79.8% | 0-10 | 82.0% | 0-10 | 79.7% | 0-10 | 81.5% |
Borderline | 14-16 | 9.0% | 12-14 | 9.7% | 12-14 | 9.9% | 11-13 | 8.2% | 11-14 | 11.3% | 11-13 | 8.9% | |
Clinical | 17-40 | 9.0% | 15-40 | 9.3% | 15-40 | 10.3% | 14-40 | 9.8% | 15-40 | 9.0% | 14-40 | 9.6% | |
Teacher rating | Normal | 0-11 | 78.9% | 0-7 | 80.5% | 0-10 | 78.1% | 0-6 | 81.4% | 0-9 | 81.3% | 0-6 | 82.5% |
Borderline | 12-16 | 11.6% | 8-11 | 10.2% | 11-14 | 10.8% | 7-9 | 9.6% | 10-12 | 8.9% | 7-9 | 7.8% | |
Clinical | 17-40 | 9.5% | 12-40 | 9.3% | 15-40 | 11.1% | 10-40 | 9.0% | 13-40 | 9.8% | 10-40 | 9.7% |
Factor analysis
SDQ items | Parent ratings (n = 24,519) | Teacher ratings (n = 7,977) | ||||||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Factor I | Factor II | Factor III | Factor IV | Factor V | Communality | Factor I | Factor II | Factor III | Factor IV | Factor V | Communality | |
Pro
|
Hyper
|
Emotion
|
Conduct
|
Peer
|
Pro
|
Hyper
|
Emotion
|
Conduct
|
Peer
| |||
Initial eigenvalue | 4.88 | 2.60 | 1.70 | 1.21 | 1.12 | 11.52 | 7.07 | 2.60 | 1.82 | 1.24 | 1.08 | 13.80 |
% of variance | 9.06 | 16.82 | 23.68 | 28.39 | 33.03 | 16.68 | 28.53 | 38.89 | 47.25 | 55.22 | ||
Prosocial behavior
| ||||||||||||
1 considerate | -.63 | .45 | -.75 | .65 | ||||||||
4 shares | -.49 | .26 | -.64 | .44 | ||||||||
9 caring | -.66 | .45 | -.81 | .69 | ||||||||
17 kind to kids | -.53 | .29 | -.74 | .57 | ||||||||
20 helps out | -.58 | .37 | -.78 | .63 | ||||||||
Hyperactivity/inattention
| ||||||||||||
2 restless | .56 | .46 | .80 | .74 | ||||||||
10 fidgety | .27 | .34 | .27 | .61 | .56 | |||||||
15 distractive | .69 | .63 | .82 | .77 | ||||||||
21 reflective (*) | .56 | .44 | .57 | .63 | ||||||||
25 persistent (*) | .64 | .50 | .59 | .59 | ||||||||
Emotional symptoms
| ||||||||||||
3 somatic complaints | .31 | .14 | .54 | .37 | ||||||||
8 worries | .55 | .37 | .75 | .59 | ||||||||
13 unhappy | .44 | .30 | .65 | .48 | ||||||||
16 clingy | .62 | .43 | .68 | .56 | ||||||||
24 fears | .51 | .29 | .68 | .51 | ||||||||
Conduct problems
| ||||||||||||
5 temper | .45 | .33 | .57 | .49 | ||||||||
7 obedient (*) | .44 | .28 | .30 | .54 | .38 | .44 | ||||||
12 fights | .46 | .25 | .67 | .60 | ||||||||
18 lies, cheats | .41 | .31 | .62 | .54 | ||||||||
22 steals | .23 | .07 | .58 | .34 | ||||||||
Peer problems
| ||||||||||||
6 solitary | .41 | .21 | .70 | .55 | ||||||||
11 good friend (*) | .38 | .18 | .61 | .48 | ||||||||
14 popular (*) | .42 | .34 | .55 | .42 | .59 | |||||||
19 picked on, bullied | .44 | .33 | .52 | .44 | ||||||||
23 best with adults | .50 | .31 | .68 | .54 |
Cross-scale correlations
Parent rating (n = 24,519) | Teacher rating (n = 7,977) | ||||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
SDQ subscale | Conduct problems | Hyperactivity/inattention | Peer problems | Prosocial behavior | Conduct problems | Hyperactivity/inattention | Peer problems | Prosocial behavior | |
Emotional symptoms | Boys | .29* | .31* | .33* | -.05* | .27* | .34* | .37* | -.18* |
Girls | .28* | .28* | .31* | -.04* | .23* | .33* | .37* | -.16* | |
Total | .28* | .28* | .32* | -.03* | .25* | .32* | .37* | -.17* | |
Conduct problems | Boys | .50* | .24* | -.30* | .57* | .41* | -.50* | ||
Girls | .45* | .25* | -.33* | .45* | .41* | -.46* | |||
Total | .48* | .25* | -.32* | .53* | .42* | -.50* | |||
Hyperactivity/inattention | Boys | .31* | -.28* | .41* | -.53* | ||||
Girls | .28* | -.30* | .44* | -.52* | |||||
Total | .30* | -.31* | .43* | -.56* | |||||
Peer problems | Boys | -.24* | -.46* | ||||||
Girls | -.25* | -.47* | |||||||
Total | -.24* | -.47* |
Internal consistency
SDQ | Parent rating (n = 24,519) | Teacher rating (n = 7,977) | ||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Boys | Girls | Total | Boys | Girls | Total | |
Total difficulties score | .82 | .79 | .81 | .86 | .84 | .86 |
Emotional symptoms | .64 | .65 | .64 | .72 | .72 | .72 |
Conduct problems | .56 | .50 | .54 | .69 | .62 | .67 |
Hyperactivity/inattention | .78 | .73 | .76 | .85 | .75 | .84 |
Peer problems | .62 | .54 | .59 | .70 | .64 | .68 |
Prosocial behavior | .72 | .71 | .73 | .84 | .82 | .84 |
Inter-rater reliability
Test-retest reliability
Convergent and divergent validity
CBCL | Withdrawal problems | Somatic complaints | Anxiety/dep | Social problems | Thought problems | Attention problems | Delinquent behaviors | Aggressive behavior | Internalizing | Externalizing | Total | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
SDQ | ||||||||||||
Parent rating (n = 46) | Total difficulties score | .32* | .44** | .25 | .48** | .23 | .62** | .54** | .43** | .36* | .51** | .56** |
Emotional symptoms | .40** | .48** | .44** | .23 | .20 | .19 | -.03 | .07 | .52** | .05 | .34* | |
Conduct problems | .19 | .21 | .16 | .06 | .00 | .37* | .66** | .50** | .21 | .59** | .39** | |
Hyperactivity/inattention | .06 | .27 | .00 | .35* | .12 | .58** | .49** | .39** | .09 | .44** | .39** | |
Peer problems | .20 | .09 | .05 | .50** | .13 | .32* | .11 | .00 | .10 | .04 | .18 | |
Prosocial behavior | -.26 | -.15 | -.03 | -.07 | -.06 | -.27 | -.30* | -.34* | -.16 | -.37* | -.21 | |
Teacher rating (n = 29) | Total difficulties score | .44* | .29 | .49** | .75** | .48** | .82** | .55** | .68** | .48** | .68** | .77** |
Emotional symptoms | .23 | .57** | .56** | .37* | .21 | .33 | .11 | .18 | .50** | .18 | .36 | |
Conduct problems | .24 | .05 | .18 | .60** | .33 | .71** | .66** | .79** | .22 | .80** | .66** | |
Hyperactivity/inattention | .30 | .22 | .33 | .52** | .36 | .74** | .40* | .62** | .31 | .59** | .66** | |
Peer problems | .46* | -.05 | .31 | .75** | .55** | .66** | .51** | .53** | .33 | .54** | .64** | |
Prosocial behavior | -.34 | -.03 | -.15 | -.43* | -.28 | -.44* | -.14 | -.46* | -.23 | -.40* | -.40* |
ADHD-RS | Parent rating (n = 41) | Teacher rating (n = 43) | ||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
SDQ | Inattention | Hyperactivity/impulsivity | Total | Inattention | Hyperactivity/impulsivity | Total |
Total difficulties score | .76** | .67** | .77** | .73** | .65** | .74** |
Emotional symptoms | .34* | .33* | .34* | .28 | .17 | .26 |
Conduct problems | .70** | .70** | .75** | .53** | .57** | .60** |
Hyperactivity/inattention | .73** | .63** | .73** | .83** | .81** | .85** |
Peer problems | .58** | .51** | .59** | .36* | .22 | .33* |
Prosocial behavior | -.29 | -.26 | -.31* | -.42** | -.86** | -.48** |