Brief and Valid? Testing the SDQ for Measuring General Psychopathology in Children

Area of Science:

• Child psychology
• Psychopathology research
• Mental health assessment

Background:

• The general psychopathology factor (p factor) explains shared variance across mental disorders.
• Early identification of the p factor in childhood is crucial for effective prevention and intervention.
• The Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire (SDQ) is a brief measure for assessing childhood psychopathology.

Purpose of the Study:

• To evaluate the Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire (SDQ) as a brief measure for assessing the general psychopathology factor (p factor) in children.
• To compare the fit of higher-order and bifactor models of psychopathology using the SDQ.
• To assess the concurrent validity of the SDQ-derived p factor with established measures.

Main Methods:

• A community sample of 284 children (ages 6-12) was assessed using parent-reported SDQ and Child Behavior Checklist (CBCL).
• Confirmatory Factor Analyses were employed to compare higher-order and bifactor models.
• The bifactor model demonstrated superior fit for both instruments.

Main Results:

• The bifactor model provided a better fit for both the SDQ and CBCL, with the SDQ showing strong fit indices.
• SDQ-derived p factor scores exhibited strong correlations with key CBCL scales, particularly attention and externalizing problems.
• These findings support the concurrent validity of the SDQ for assessing general psychopathology.

Conclusions:

• The Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire (SDQ) is a valid and psychometrically robust measure for assessing general psychopathology in children.
• Its brevity makes the SDQ a practical alternative to the Child Behavior Checklist (CBCL) for early identification and intervention.
• These results support the use of the SDQ in clinical and research settings for understanding childhood mental health.