Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire SDQ Parent
Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire SDQ Parent overview
Creator and Context
The Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire (SDQ) is a 25 item behavioural screening questionnaire developed by Robert Goodman at the Institute of Psychiatry in London and published in 1997. It is one of the most widely used child mental health measures in the world.
The parent version is completed by a parent or carer. The SDQ is copyrighted and distributed by Youthinmind. Electronic versions may not be created or distributed without prior authorisation.
Presenting Conditions
The SDQ has five scales of five items each:
Emotional symptoms
Conduct problems
Hyperactivity and inattention
Peer relationship problems
Prosocial behaviour, which measures strengths and is not included in the total
The first four scales sum to a Total Difficulties score. An impact supplement asks about distress, chronicity, social impairment and burden.
Administration
Self completed by the parent or carer. Each item is rated Not True (0), Somewhat True (1) or Certainly True (2). The standard version asks about the last six months or this school year. A follow up version uses a one month window and adds questions about whether the intervention has helped.
Desired Audience
Parents and carers of children and young people aged 4 to 17. A separate preschool version exists for ages 2 to 4.
The SDQ is the common currency of child mental health. Its real strength is the multi informant design: the same 25 items completed by a parent, a teacher and the young person give three views of the same child, and the differences between them are often the most useful part of the assessment.
Considerations
It is a screening tool, not a diagnostic one. Goodman himself notes the cut offs are somewhat arbitrary and that there is a continuous gradient rather than a step change.
It is good at identifying that something is wrong and weak at specifying what.
The six month recall window makes the standard version unsuitable for follow up intervals of less than six months. Use the follow up version instead.
Norms are invalid if a practitioner helps the respondent choose answers.
Electronic implementation requires a licence from Youthinmind.
How to score the Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire SDQ Parent
Conducting the assessment
The parent rates 25 items on a three point scale, with five items reverse scored. Scales can be pro rated if at least three of the five items are completed.
Interpretation
Each scale scores 0 to 10 and Total Difficulties scores 0 to 40.
Four band interpretation for the parent version (close to average, slightly raised, high, very high):
Total Difficulties: 0 to 13, 14 to 16, 17 to 19, 20 to 40
Emotional symptoms: 0 to 3, 4, 5 to 6, 7 to 10
Conduct problems: 0 to 2, 3, 4 to 5, 6 to 10
Hyperactivity: 0 to 5, 6 to 7, 8, 9 to 10
Peer problems: 0 to 2, 3, 4, 5 to 10
Prosocial (close to average, slightly lowered, low, very low): 8 to 10, 7, 6, 0 to 5
Clinical Considerations
Collect more than one informant wherever you can. Parent and teacher reports diverge for good reasons.
Use the impact supplement. Symptom scores without impairment data tell you very little about need.
For outcome monitoring use the follow up version, not the standard version.
Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire SDQ Parent use cases
Screening for emotional and behavioural difficulties in children
Multi informant assessment alongside teacher and self report versions
Routine outcome monitoring using the follow up version
Population and epidemiological research
Category
Children & Young People
Research Summary
Goodman, R. (1997). The Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire: A research note. Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry, 38(5), 581 to 586.
Goodman, R. (1999). The extended version of the SDQ as a guide to child psychiatric caseness and consequent burden. Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry, 40(5), 791 to 799.
Goodman, R. (2001). Psychometric properties of the Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire. Journal of the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, 40(11), 1337 to 1345.
Other Assessment Guides
Young Person's CORE YP-CORE
A guide to the YP-CORE, the 10 item measure of psychological distress in young people aged 11 to 16. Covers scoring, the gender and age specific clinical cut offs and the reliable change index.
Me and My Feelings Questionnaire
A guide to the Me and My Feelings questionnaire, the 16 item school based screen for emotional and behavioural difficulties in children. Covers the two subscales, cut offs and its limits as a screener.
Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire SDQ Teacher
A guide to the teacher completed Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire (SDQ). Covers the five scales, teacher specific four band thresholds and why teacher bands differ from parent bands.
Note on Assessment licensing
Some assessments are copyright protected and require a licence or the copyright holder's permission for clinical, commercial or digital use. Where that applies, obtaining and maintaining that permission is the responsibility of the practice or organisation using the assessment. Tacklit provides the digital administration, scoring and reporting. We do not grant, transfer or supply rights to the underlying instrument.
