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Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire (SDQ), Single version
Availability

Please visit this website for more information about the instrument: Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire
Classification

Supplemental for Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI)
Short Description of Instrument

The SDQ is a screening measure for detecting behavior problems. There are multiple versions of the SDQ, depending on the age of the child, and the specific person completing the form (e.g. teacher/ parent, self-completion). The forms have between one and three of the following components:
A. All versions of the SDQ include 25-items pertaining to attributes and are divided into five sub-scales: emotional symptoms, conduct problems, hyperactivity/inattention, peer relationship problems and pro-social behavior.
B. Extended versions of the SDQ have questions pertaining to whether the respondent thinks the child has a problem and further questions about chronicity, distress, social impairment and burden to others.
C. There are two follow-up questions for us after an intervention. The follow-up questions of the SDQ ask about the past one month, as opposed to the past six months or this school year, which is the reference period for the standard versions.
May be completed by children 11-16, or by parents or teachers of children 4-16. It can be completed in about 5 minutes using paper and pencil.
Scoring

Questions are answered on a 3-point Likert scale. The score for each scale is the sum of item scores, generating a scale score from 0-10. A total difficulties score (from scores for hyperactivity, emotional symptoms, conduct problems and peer problems) ranges from 0-40.
References

Gale, E. and Holling, A. (2000). Young people and stigma, YoungMinds Magazine, 49- 50.
Goodman, R., and Scott, S. (1999). Comparing the Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire and the Child Behavior Checklist: Is small beautiful? J Abnor Child Psychol 25, 17-24.
Goodman, R. (1997). The Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire: A Research Note. Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry, 38, 5, 581-586.

 

Document last updated June 2019