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The validity of the Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire (SDQ) for children with ADHD symptoms

Hall, Charlotte L.; Guo, Boliang; Valentine, Althea Z.; Groom, Madeline J.; Daley, David; Sayal, Kapil; Hollis, Chris

The validity of the Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire (SDQ) for children with ADHD symptoms Thumbnail


Authors

BOLIANG GUO BOLIANG.GUO@NOTTINGHAM.AC.UK
Associate Professor

Althea Z. Valentine

Dr MADDIE GROOM maddie.groom@nottingham.ac.uk
Professor of Neurodevelopmental Conditions

David Daley

KAPIL SAYAL kapil.sayal@nottingham.ac.uk
Professor of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry

CHRIS HOLLIS chris.hollis@nottingham.ac.uk
Professor of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry and Digital Mental Health



Contributors

Marc Ferrer
Editor

Abstract

Background: The Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire (SDQ) is widely used to assess child and adolescent mental health problems. However, the factor structure of the SDQ is subject to debate and there is limited evidence investigating measurement equivalence invariance (ME/I) between treatment groups, informants, and across time.
Method: A randomised controlled trial (RCT) recruited 250 participants (6-17 years) who had been referred for an attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) assessment. Participants and their clinician either received or did not receive a QbTest report (computer task measuring attention, impulsivity and activity). Parents and teachers completed the SDQ at baseline and 6-months later. This study aimed to understand the factor structure of the SDQ in a clinic referred ADHD sample, and validate the scale as a screening/diagnostic aide and as a measure of treatment outcome both in clinical and research settings. Exploratory Structural Equation Modelling (ESEM) was performed to examine the factor structure, and ME/I was assessed between treatment groups, informants, and time points. The criterion validity of the SDQ predictive algorithm for ADHD was compared with clinician and research diagnoses using logistic regression and tests of diagnostic accuracy.
Results: A 5-factor structure provided the best fit with strong factorial invariance between treatment groups and across time points, but not across informants (parent and teacher ratings). SDQ ratings of ‘probable’ hyperactivity disorder were good predictors of clinical (OR=10.20, 95%CI 2.18-48.71,p=0.003) and research diagnoses of ADHD (OR=6.82, 95%CI 1.95-23.84,p=0.003), and research diagnoses of Hyperkinetic disorder (OR=4.02, 95%CI 1.13-14.25,p=0.031). Further examination of the SDQ hyperactivity ‘probable’ rating showed good specificity (84.5%-74.5%) but poor sensitivity (45.0-42.5%) for ADHD.
Conclusion: The findings indicate the SDQ is a valid outcome measure for use in RCTs and clinical settings. However, care should be taken when using the SDQ predictive algorithm to screen for ADHD in clinically referred samples.

Citation

Hall, C. L., Guo, B., Valentine, A. Z., Groom, M. J., Daley, D., Sayal, K., & Hollis, C. (2019). The validity of the Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire (SDQ) for children with ADHD symptoms. PLoS ONE, 14(6), Article e0218518. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0218518

Journal Article Type Article
Acceptance Date Jun 6, 2019
Online Publication Date Jun 19, 2019
Publication Date Jun 19, 2019
Deposit Date Jun 18, 2019
Publicly Available Date Jun 18, 2019
Journal PLOS ONE
Electronic ISSN 1932-6203
Publisher Public Library of Science
Peer Reviewed Peer Reviewed
Volume 14
Issue 6
Article Number e0218518
DOI https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0218518
Keywords General Biochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology; General Agricultural and Biological Sciences; General Medicine
Public URL https://nottingham-repository.worktribe.com/output/2204112
Publisher URL https://journals.plos.org/plosone/article?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0218518
Contract Date Jun 18, 2019

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