Overview
The Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire (SDQ) screens for positive and negative psychological attributes.
Key Details
Grade Level
Assessment Type
Domains Assessed
Respondent
Method
Cost
No Cost
Time per Student
10 min
Items
33-38
Item Format
Likert
Approach
Dual Factor
Populations
Evidence is based on a sample of over 10,000 British adolescents, ages 5 to 15, including parents, teachers, and self reports (Goodman, 2001).
Scoring
Overall Scores
Total Difficulties
Subscale Scores
Emotional Symptoms
Conduct Problems
Hyperactivity/Inattention
Peer Relationship Problems
Prosocial Behavior
Scoring Procedures
Self-Scored;
Online;
SPSS Syntax
Interpretive Information
Degree of Risk
Psychometric Properties
Reliability
Inter-rater reliabilities were calculated for parent-teacher, parent-student, and teacher-student versions of the forms. Spearman inter-rater correlations ranged from 0.23 to 0.48 (Goodman, 2001). Internal consistency estimates range from 0.88 to 0.57. Test-retest reliabilities (with a four-to-six-month interval) ranged from 0.57 to 0.82.
Validity
Exploratory factor analysis was used to find evidence for five distinct scales.
High SDQ scores (in the extreme 10% of the population) were associated with a substantial increase in psychiatric risk, with odds ratios of around 15 for parent and teacher SDQ scales (Goodman, 2001).
References
Primary Citation
Goodman, R. (1997). Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire (SDQ) [Database record]. APA PsycTests.
https://doi.org/10.1037/t00540-000