Abstract
BackgroundThe Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire (SDQ) is a practical, economic and user-friendly screening instrument of emotional and behavioural problems in children and adolescents. This study was aimed primarily at evaluating the factor structure of the Greek version of the SDQ.MethodsA representative nationwide sample of 1,194 adolescents (11 to 17 years old) completed the questionnaire. Confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) was conducted to assess the factor structure of the SDQ.ResultsCFA supported the original five-factor structure. The modification of the model provided some improvements. Internal consistency was acceptable for total difficulties, emotional symptoms and prosocial behaviour scale, moderate for hyperactivity/inattention scale and inadequate for peer and conduct problems scale. Older adolescents (aged 15 to 17 years) reported more hyperactivity/inattention and conduct problems than younger ones (aged 11 to 14 years) and girls reported more emotional symptoms and less prosocial behaviour problems than boys. Adolescents of low socioeconomic status (SES) reported more difficulties than those of medium and high SES.ConclusionThe Greek SDQ could be potentially considered as a community-wide screening instrument for adolescents' emotional and behavioural problems.
Highlights
The Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire (SDQ) is a practical, economic and user-friendly screening instrument of emotional and behavioural problems in children and adolescents
The item 'I think before I do things' had loading equal to 0.25 on hyperactivity/inattention scale and a secondary loading was added on prosocial behaviour scale
These findings indicated that the aforementioned items create a subdimension within the hyperactivity/inattention factor
Summary
The Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire (SDQ) is a practical, economic and user-friendly screening instrument of emotional and behavioural problems in children and adolescents. This study was aimed primarily at evaluating the factor structure of the Greek version of the SDQ. Validated instruments with the potential to detect children at risk for developing psychosocial problems are, of crucial importance. Professionals can use such instruments as tools to assess the nature of these problems as a first step for further diagnosis, to prioritise cases as well as to evaluate the effects of an intervention [3,4,5]. The Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire (SDQ) is a brief instrument developed primarily for screening pur-. The CBCL has been shown to be more appropriate for the investigation of a broader range of psychopathology [9]
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