Table 2 Internal consistency (Cronbach’s alphas) of scores on the SDQ Total Difficulties scale and subscales, and test characteristics of the SDQ Total Difficulties using the CBCL Total Problems score as criterion
From: The Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire Parent Form: Dutch norms and validity
3-4 years | 4-7 years | 7-11 years | 12-14 years | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
SDQ norms | ||||
Clinical SDQ score | ||||
Cut-off point | > 10 | > 14 | > 13 | > 11 |
% children with elevated SDQ TDS score | 10.0 | 9.2 | 9.0 | 10.6 |
Borderline SDQ score | ||||
Cut-off point | > 7 | > 10 | > 10 | > 8 |
% children with elevated SDQ score | 20.6 | 21.1 | 17.7 | 21.3 |
Cronbach’s alpha | ||||
SDQ scales | ||||
Total difficulties | 0.78 | 0.79 | 0.80 | 0.77 |
Emotional symptoms | 0.52 | 0.74 | 0.71 | 0.69 |
Conduct problems | 0.63 | 0.54 | 0.56 | 0.39 |
Hyperactivity | 0.75 | 0.77 | 0.78 | 0.76 |
Peer problems | 0.52 | 0.49 | 0.55 | 0.63 |
Prosocial | 0.65 | 0.83 | 0.67 | 0.75 |
Validity indices | ||||
Clinical SDQ score | ||||
Sensitivity | 0.70 | 0.71 | 0.75 | 0.58 |
Specificity | 0.94 | 0.95 | 0.96 | 0.95 |
Borderline SDQ score | ||||
Sensitivity | 0.84 | 0.90 | 0.92 | 0.81 |
Specificity | 0.80 | 0.83 | 0.88 | 0.86 |
AUC (95% confidence interval) | 0.92 (0.88-0.95) | 0.94 (0.93-0.96) | 0.96 (0.95-0.98) | 0.93 (0.91-0.95) |