Since its development, the Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire (SDQ) has been widely used in both research and practice. The SDQ screens for positive and negative psychological attributes. This review aims to provide an overview of the psychometric properties of the SDQ for 4- to 12-year-olds. Results from 48 studies (N = 131,223) on reliability and validity of the parent and teacher SDQ are summarized quantitatively and descriptively. Internal consistency, test-retest reliability, and inter-rater agreement are satisfactory for the parent and teacher versions. At subscale level, the reliability of the teacher version seemed stronger compared to that of the parent version. Concerning validity, 15 out of 18 studies confirmed the five-factor structure. Correlations with other measures of psychopathology as well as the screening ability of the SDQ are sufficient. This review shows that the psychometric properties of the SDQ are strong, particularly for the teacher version. For practice, this implies that the use of the SDQ as a screening instrument should be continued. Longitudinal research studies should investigate predictive validity. For both practice and research, we emphasize the use of a multi-informant approach.

/pdf/psychometric-properties-of-the-parent-and-teacher-versions-x86czyeqey.pdf

Psychometric Properties of the Parent and Teacher Versions of the Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire for 4- to 12-Year-Olds: A Review

The Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire (SDQ) is one of the most commonly used instruments for screening psychopathology in children and adolescents. This study evaluated the hypothesized five-factor structure of the SDQ and examined its convergent validity against comprehensive clinical diagnostic assessments. Data were derived from the National Comorbidity Survey - Adolescent Supplement (NCS-A), a nationally representative sample of U.S. adolescents aged 13 to 18 years. Parents/parent surrogates (n=6,483) was asked to complete a self-administered questionnaire including the SDQ and DSM-IV comprehensive diagnostic information on the participating adolescents. Confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) was conducted to assess the factor structure of the SDQ. The five-factor solution of the SDQ (including emotional, conduct, hyperactivity-inattention, peer relationship, and prosocial) provided a satisfactory fit to the data, and was invariant across sex, age, race/ethnicity and income subgroups. SDQ scores predicted a significantly increased probability of meeting criteria for a DSM-IV disorder, with better prediction for behavior disorders than for mood disorders. Decreasing the SDQ cutoffs to the 80th percentile significantly increased the sensitivity from 39% to 63% for the SDQ Total Difficulties Score, with an expected decrease in specificity from 93% to 87%. This work confirms the five-factor structure of the SDQ in an ethnically and sociodemogrpahically diverse community sample of adolescents. Our findings strengthen empirical evidence for the use of the parent-reported SDQ as a screening tool for DSM-IV behavioral and emotional disorders in adolescents identified in the general population.

The Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire (SDQ): the Factor Structure and Scale Validation in U.S. Adolescents

Psychometric properties of the Chinese version of Strength and Difficulties Questionnaire.

BACKGROUND:
Poor menstrual knowledge and access to sanitary products have been proposed as barriers to menstrual health and school attendance. In response, interventions targeting these needs have seen increasing implementation in public and private sectors. However, there has been limited assessment of their effectiveness.

// OBJECTIVES: 
Assess the impact of providing reusable sanitary pads and puberty education on girls’ school attendance and psychosocial wellbeing outcomes.

// METHODS: 
A cluster quasi-randomised controlled trial was conducted across 8 schools, including 1124 girls, in rural Uganda. Schools were allocated to one of four conditions: the provision of puberty education alone; reusable sanitary pads alone; puberty education and reusable sanitary pads; and a control (no intervention). The primary outcome was school attendance. Secondary outcomes reflected psychosocial wellbeing.

// RESULTS: 
At follow-up, school attendance had worsened for girls across all conditions. Per-protocol analysis revealed that this decline was significantly greater for those in the control condition d = 0.52 (95%CI 0.26–0.77), with those in control schools having a 17.1% (95%CI: 8.7–25.5) greater drop in attendance than those in any intervention school. There were no differences between the intervention conditions. High rates of school drop-out and transfer meant the trial suffered from substantial participant drop-out. Intention-to-treat analyses using two different imputation strategies were consistent with the main results, with mean differences of 5.2% attendance in best-case and 24.5% in worst-case imputations. Results were robust to adjustments for clustering. There was no impact of the interventions on girls’ self-reported shame or insecurity during menstruation.

// CONCLUSION: 
Results of the trial support the hypothesised positive impact of providing sanitary pads or puberty education for girls’ school attendance in a developing country context. Findings must be interpreted with caution in light of poor participant retention, intervention fidelity, and the attendance measures used.

/pdf/menstruation-and-the-cycle-of-poverty-a-cluster-quasi-45q2gaotgy.pdf

Menstruation and the Cycle of Poverty: A Cluster Quasi-Randomised Control Trial of Sanitary Pad and Puberty Education Provision in Uganda

https://www.thelancet.com/pdfs/journals/lanpsy/PIIS2215-0366(15)00109-1.pdf

Effect of an early perinatal depression intervention on long-term child development outcomes: follow-up of the Thinking Healthy Programme randomised controlled trial

Objective: To compare CBCL (Child Behaviour Check Llist) Urdu, with the validated Urdu version of Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire (SDQ) used as “gold standard” among school children in Karachi, Pakistan, and to develop local cutoffs for CBCL using SDQ as a gold standard. Study Design: A cross-sectional study. Place and Duration of Study: Schools of Karachi metropolitan area from January to December 2006. Methodology: The Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire (SDQ) and Child Behaviour Check List (CBCL) was completed by parents of 5-11 years old primary school children in Karachi. Appropriate cutoff points for total problem, internalizing and externalizing scales were obtained for CBCL. Results: A total of 556 parents filled out both the SDQ Urdu version as well as CBCL. Scores from the parent rated total SDQ scores were highly correlated with the total CBCL scores (r=0.589). The local cutoffs derived for CBCL were considerably lower than USA norms. Slightly higher cutoff for males was found as compared to females for the total CBCL scores. Conclusion: Like the original English version, the Urdu version of CBCL and SDQ are both equally valid assessment tools to be used for both clinical and research purpose in Pakistani settings, where Urdu is widely spoken and understood.

/pdf/comparison-of-urdu-version-of-strengths-and-difficulties-3gogggufb4.pdf

Comparison of Urdu version of Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire (SDQ) and the Child Behaviour Check List (CBCL) amongst primary school children in Karachi.

OBJECTIVE To identify the psychiatric illnesses in patients with hematological/oncological disorders encountered during blood and bone marrow transplantation. DESIGN Cross-sectional study. PLACE AND DURATION OF STUDY Bismillah Taqee Institute of Health Sciences and Blood Diseases Centre, Karachi from December 2002 to December 2005. PATIENTS AND METHODS All consecutive patients, aged 15 years and above, who fulfilled inclusion and exclusion criteria and underwent blood and bone marrow transplantation, were enrolled in this study. Psychiatric assessment comprised of a semi-structured interview based on Present Status Examination (PSE). The psychiatric diagnosis was made on the basis of International Classification of Diseases (ICD-10) system of classification devised by W.H.O. RESULTS Eighty patients, who fulfilled the inclusion criteria, were inducted in this study. Thirty (37.5%) cases were found to have psychiatric disorders. Out of the total, 60 (75%) were males and 20 (25%) females. Adjustment disorder was the most frequent diagnosis (n=12), followed by major depression (n=7). Rest of the diagnoses made were generalized anxiety disorder, acute psychotic disorder, delirium and depressive psychosis. CONCLUSION High psychiatric morbidity associated with blood and bone marrow transplantation was observed. It indicates the importance of psychiatric intervention during the isolation period of BMT as well as pre-transplant psychiatric assessment and counseling regarding procedure.

Psychiatric disorders in bone marrow transplant patients.

OBJECTIVE: To determine the preferred antipsychotic drug of mental health professionals. MATERIAL AND METHODS: This cross-sectional survey was conducted among mental healthcare professionals of 25 public/private healthcare facilities of Sindh and Blochistan provinces form April 2007 to March 2008. After approval from ethical committee of Dow University of Health Sciences mental health professionals (trainees, consultants with experience only and consultant with postgraduate qualification) present on the day of visit to a facility were approached and asked to fill a semi-structured questionnaire to determine the preferred antipsychotic for patient as well as for themselves if they got ill and the factors they consider while choosing that antipsychotic. Descriptive analysis of the data was performed by SPSS v. 14. RESULTS: One-hundred five mental health professionals were divided in 3 groups i.e. trainees (29), experienced doctors (24) and consultants psychiatrists (52). They have almost equal experience of using typical (48%) and atypical (49%) antipsychotic, but when asked to chose antipsychotic for themselves, atypical (81%) were preferred over typical (14%) antipsychotic with Risperidone as the most common choice (55%) followed by quetiapine, olanzapine and clozapine. Regarding the factors influencing prescription, efficacy and safety were most considered factor while choosing antipsychotic for themselves as compare to efficacy and cost while experiencing prescription for patients. CONCLUSION: Clinical approach varies while prescribing anti-psychotic drug for the patients and for themselves between typical and atypical. Efficacy and safety were considered while choosing for themselves, whereas efficacy and cost while prescribing for patients.

Abdul Ghani Khan

Papers

Comparison of Urdu version of Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire (SDQ) and the Child Behaviour Check List (CBCL) amongst primary school children in Karachi.

Psychiatric disorders in bone marrow transplant patients.

Preferred antipsychotic by mental health professionals of Sindh and Balauchistan