Psychometric properties of the preschool strengths and difficulties questionnaire (SDQ) in UK 1-to-2-year-olds

Byrne, Elizabeth M. ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-5018-5643, Eneberi, Annette, Barker, Beth, Grimas, Ellen, Iles, Jane, Pote, Helen, Ramchandani, Paulv G. and O’Farrelly, Christine M. (2024) Psychometric properties of the preschool strengths and difficulties questionnaire (SDQ) in UK 1-to-2-year-olds. European Journal of Pediatrics. ISSN 0340-6199

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Abstract

Early identification of emotional and behavioural difficulties in very young children is crucial for intervention and prevention. The Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire (SDQ) is a widely used measure of child and adolescent mental health that is brief, cost-effective, and easy to administer. The aims of this study were to establish the validity and reliability of the preschool SDQ in UK 1-2-year-olds. This study investigated the psychometric properties of the Preschool SDQ in a large UK sample (N = 2040; female = 46.86%; male = 50.83%, sex not recorded = 2.30%) of infants and toddlers (1-2-year-olds). Analyses were performed at item-level (internal consistency, internal structure, measurement invariance) and scale-level (test–retest reliability, convergent validity). Similar to previous research, confirmatory factor analysis supported a slightly modified five-factor model, including the addition of a positive construal method factor, resulting in satisfactory data fit and a moderately good fitting model. Internal consistency (Cronbach’s alpha) for the SDQ total difficulties score was satisfactory, and higher for externalising over internalising problems. Moderate to strong correlations indicated good test–retest reliability, and moderate correlations indicated convergent validity between the SDQ and Child Behavior Checklist (CBCL), but associations were weaker than those found in studies with older children.

Item Type:	Article
Additional Information:	Data availability statement: No datasets were generated or analysed during the current study. Funding information: This study was funded by the NIHR HTA programme grant (13/04/33). The views expressed are those of the author(s) and not necessarily those of the NIHR or the Department of Health and Social Care. This work was also supported by a UKRI Future Leaders Fellowship MR/V025686/1.
Uncontrolled Keywords:	sdg 3 - good health and well-being,3* ,/dk/atira/pure/sustainabledevelopmentgoals/good_health_and_well_being
Faculty \ School:	Faculty of Social Sciences > School of Psychology
UEA Research Groups:	Faculty of Social Sciences > Research Groups > Developmental Science
Depositing User:	LivePure Connector
Date Deposited:	10 Oct 2024 16:30
Last Modified:	18 Oct 2024 08:30
URI:	https://ueaeprints.uea.ac.uk/id/eprint/96989
DOI:	10.1007/s00431-024-05801-2

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