Files and links (1)
chau-et-al-2023-against-the-use-of-the-strengths-and-difficulties-questionnaire-for-aboriginal-and-torres-strait201.91 kB
Published VersionCC BY V4.0, Open Access
Journal article
Against the use of the Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children aged 2-15 years
Australian and New Zealand Journal of Psychiatry, Vol.57(10), pp.1343-1358
2023
PMID: 36974891
Abstract
The Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire is a widely used screening tool for emotional and behavioural problems in children. Recent quantitative analyses have raised concerns regarding its structural validity in Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities. This paper aims to extend upon existing findings by analysing the factor structure of both the parent- and teacher-reported Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire in this population across a broader age range than in previous studies.
Participants were the caregivers and teachers of 1624 Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children (820 male, 804 female) aged 2-15 years from Waves 2-11 of the Longitudinal Study of Indigenous Children. The majority of children were Aboriginal living in major cities and inner regional areas. Internal consistency was estimated with McDonald's Omega. Exploratory structural equation modelling was conducted to investigate the factor structure of the parent-reported and teacher-reported versions of the Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire.
Responses from teachers demonstrated higher internal consistency than responses from parents, which was unacceptably low across most age groups. The purported five-factor structure of the Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire failed to be replicated across both parent- and teacher-reported questionnaires. The results of bifactor and hierarchical exploratory structural equation models also failed to approximate the higher-order summary scales. These results indicate that the Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire subscales and summary scores do not provide a valid index of emotional and behavioural problems in Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children.
The Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire should not be used with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children.
Details
- Title
- Against the use of the Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children aged 2-15 years
- Authors
- Tracey Chau (Corresponding Author) - Monash UniversityJeggan Tiego - Monash UniversityLouise Brown - Curtin UniversityDavid Coghill - The University of MelbourneLaura Jobson - Monash UniversityAlice Montgomery - Sydney Local Health DistrictCammi Murrup-Stewart - Monash UniversityEmma Sciberras - The University of MelbourneTim J Silk - Deakin UniversityMegan Spencer-Smith - Monash UniversityNicole Stefanac - Monash UniversityDaniel P Sullivan - The University of QueenslandMark A Bellgrove - Monash University
- Publication details
- Australian and New Zealand Journal of Psychiatry, Vol.57(10), pp.1343-1358
- Publisher
- Sage Publications Ltd.
- Date published
- 2023
- DOI
- 10.1177/00048674231161504
- ISSN
- 1440-1614; 0004-8674
- PMID
- 36974891
- Copyright note
- © The Author(s) 2023. This article is distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/) which permits any use, reproduction and distribution of the work without further permission provided the original work is attributed as specified on the SAGE and Open Access pages (https://us.sagepub.com/en-us/nam/open-access-at-sage).
- Grant note
- This work was funded by the Australian attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) Professionals Association via grant funds awarded from the Australian Government’s Department of Health under the Support for People Impacted by ADHD Programme (4-A168GGT). T.C. and L.B. were supported by an Australian Government Research Training Program (RTP) Scholarship. M.A.B. is funded by a Senior Research Fellowship (Level B) from the National Health and Medical Research Council of Australia. J.T. is funded by a Turner Impact Fellowship from the Turner Institute for Brain and Mental Health, Monash University. D.P.S. is funded by the Australian ADHD Professionals Association from an Australian Government Department of Health Grant. E.S. funded by a Medical Research Future Fund Investigator Grant (1194297).
- Organisation Unit
- Thompson Institute
- Language
- English
- Record Identifier
- 991093698902621
- Output Type
- Journal article
Metrics
2 File views/ downloads
26 Record Views
InCites Highlights
These are selected metrics from InCites Benchmarking & Analytics tool, related to this output
- Collaboration types
- Domestic collaboration
- Web Of Science research areas
- Psychiatry
UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)
This output has contributed to the advancement of the following goals:
Source: InCites