ASSESSING BEHAVIOURAL AND EMOTIONAL DIFFICULTIES IN THE CHILD-ADOLESCENT POPULATION: THE STRENGTHS AND DIFFICULTIES QUESTIONNAIRE (SDQ)

Abstract

The Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire (SDQ) is a screening tool that enables the assessment of emotional and behavioural difficulties, and prosocial behaviour in children and adolescents from a multi-informant perspective. The main goal of this article is to carry out a selective review on the main evidence concerning the psychometric and epidemiologic characteristics of the SDQ. The psychometric properties are adequate with regard to the reliability of the scores and the five-factor structure is the most accepted (emotional symptoms, conduct problems, hyperactivity/inattention, peer relationship problems, and prosocial behaviour). In addition, different studies support the appropriateness of the SDQ for use as an evaluation tool in clinical and school contexts. The results show that gender and age have an influence on the phenotypic expression of emotional and behavioural difficulties. In conclusion, the SDQ is a short, easy to use, and useful measurement tool for evaluating problems, difficulties, and capacities related to childhood and adolescence and it may be used with Spanish children and adolescents.

Keywords

• SDQ
• Assessment
• Adolescence
• Emotional problems
• Review
• Psychometric properties.