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Psychopathological screening of children with ADHD: Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire in a pan-European study

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Abstract

Objective

To examine the psychometric properties of the Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire (SDQ) parent version and to determine the effects of age, gender, country and investigator type (paediatrician, child psychiatrist, other physician) on the SDQ scores in the prospective, non-interventional ADORE study.

Methods

The SDQ was completed for 1,459 children with ADHD (aged 6–18 years) in 10 European countries.

Results

Factor analysis provided an exact replication of the original 5-factor SDQ subscale structure. All subscales were sufficiently homogeneous. The mean total difficulties and SDQ subscale scores of the ADORE sample clearly differed from UK normative data. Younger children were more impaired on different SDQ scales than older children, and girls were more emotionally affected than boys. Differences between countries were found for each SDQ scale, but the investigator type had no significant effect. Correlation coefficients between SDQ scales and other scales used in ADORE ranged from low (r<0.30) to high (r>0.50).

Conclusions

The present study confirmed the validity and reliability of the parent-reported SDQ scale structure and showed that the scale scores are dependent on age and gender. In contrast to investigator type, different cultures had a significant effect on SDQ scores. Correlations with other scales used in the ADORE study underline both separate domains and meaningful associations.

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Abbreviations

ADHD:

Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder

ADORE:

Attention-deficit/hyperactivity Disorder Observational Research in Europe

ADHD-RS-IV:

ADHD Rating Scale-IV

CHIP-CE:

Child Health and Illness Profile – Child Edition

CGAS:

Children's Global Assessment Scale

CGI-S:

Clinical Global Impression – Severity scale

SDQ:

Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire

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Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. University of Göttingen, Dept. of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, von-Siebold-Str. 5, 37075, Göttingen, Germany

    Aribert Rothenberger

  2. Dept. of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, University of Göttingen, Göttingen, Germany

    Andreas Becker

  3. Dept. of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, University of Zürich, Zürich, Switzerland

    Hans-Christoph Steinhausen

  4. Dept. of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, University of Reykjavík, Reykjavík, Iceland

    Gisli Baldursson

  5. Dept. of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, University of Aarhus, Aarhus, Denmark

    Sören Dalsgaard

  6. Eli Lilly and Company, Lilly Research Centre, Windlesham, Surrey, UK

    Maria J. Lorenzo

  7. Dept. of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, University of Cologne, Cologne, Germany

    Manfred Döpfner

Authors
  1. Andreas Becker
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  2. Hans-Christoph Steinhausen
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  3. Gisli Baldursson
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  4. Sören Dalsgaard
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  5. Maria J. Lorenzo
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  6. Stephen J. Ralston**
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  7. Manfred Döpfner
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  8. Aribert Rothenberger
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Consortia

ADORE Study Group*

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Aribert Rothenberger.

Additional information

* Members of the ADORE Study Group G Baldursson, D Coghill, P Curatolo, S Dalsgaard, M Döpfner, B Falissard, A Hervas, MF Le Heuzey, TS Nøvik, RR Pereira, U Preuss, S Ralston, P Rasmussen, AW Riley, A Rothenberger, G Spiel, HC Steinhausen, L Vlasveld

** Employed by Eli Lilly and Company at the time the research was performed

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Becker, A., Steinhausen, HC., Baldursson, G. et al. Psychopathological screening of children with ADHD: Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire in a pan-European study. Eur Child Adolesc Psychiatry 15 (Suppl 1), i56–i62 (2006). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00787-006-1008-7

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00787-006-1008-7

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