Skip to main content
Key Specialties
Cardiology Diabetology Endocrinology Gastroenterology Geriatrics and Gerontology Gynecology and Obstetrics Hematology Infectious Disease Internal Medicine Nephrology Neurology Oncology Pediatrics Respiratory Medicine Rheumatology Surgery
Congress Coverage
2024 ACC Congress 2023 ESMO Congress 2023 EASD Congress 2023 ERS Congress 2023 ESC Congress
Clinical Collections
Advances in Alzheimer’s

At a glance: The STEP trials

A round-up of the STEP phase 3 clinical trials evaluating semaglutide for weight loss in people with overweight or obesity.
ADVANCED SEARCH
Log in
Top
BMC Public Health
Published in: BMC Public Health 1/2009

Open Access 01-12-2009 | Research article

Comparing three short questionnaires to detect psychosocial dysfunction among primary school children: a randomized method

Authors: Antonius GC Vogels, Matty R Crone, Femke Hoekstra, Sijmen A Reijneveld

Published in: BMC Public Health | Issue 1/2009

Login to get access

Abstract

Background

Good questionnaires are essential to support the early identification of children with psychosocial dysfunction in community based settings. Our aim was to assess which of three short questionnaires was most suitable for this identification among school-aged children

Methods

A community-based sample of 2,066 parents of children aged 7-12 years (85% of those eligible) filled out the Child Behavior Checklist (CBCL) and - randomly determined - one of three questionnaires to be compared: the Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire with Impact Supplement (SDQ), the Pediatric Symptom Checklist (PSC) and the PSYBOBA, a Dutch-origin questionnaire. Preventive Child Healthcare professionals assessed children's psychosocial functioning during routine health examinations. We assessed the scale structure (by means of Structural Equation Modelling), validity (correlation coefficients, sensitivity and specificity) and usability (ratings by parents and professionals) of each questionnaire and the degree to which they could improve the identification based only on clinical assessment (logistic regression).

Results

For the three questionnaires, Cronbach's alphas varied between 0.80 and 0.89. Sensitivities for a clinical CBCL at a cut off point with specificity = 0.90 varied between 0.78 and 0.86 for the three questionnaires. Areas under the Receiver Operating Curve, using the CBCL as criterion, varied between 0.93 and 0.96. No differences were statistically significant. All three questionnaires added information to the clinical assessment. Odds ratios (95% confidence intervals) for added information were PSC: 29.3 (14.4-59.8), SDQ: 55.0 (23.1-131.2) and PSYBOBA: 68.5 (28.3-165.6). Parents preferred the SDQ and PSYBOBA. Preventive Child Health Care professionals preferred the SDQ.

Conclusions

This randomized comparison of three questionnaires shows that each of the three questionnaires can improve the detection of psychosocial dysfunction among children substantially.
Literature
1.
Brugman E, Reijneveld SA, Verhulst FC, Verloove-Vanhorick SP: Identification and management of psychosocial problems by preventive child health care. Arch Pediatr Adolesc Med. 2001, 155: 462-469.CrossRefPubMed
2.
Wildman BG, Kinsman AM, Logue E, Dickey DJ, Smucker WD: Presentation and management of childhood psychosocial problems. J Fam Pract. 1997, 44: 77-84.PubMed
3.
Kelleher KJ, McInerny TK, Gardner WP, Childs GE, Wasserman RC: Increasing identification of psychosocial problems: 1979-1996. Pediatrics. 2000, 105: 1313-1321. 10.1542/peds.105.6.1313.CrossRefPubMed
4.
Reijneveld SA, De Meer G, Wiefferink CH, Crone MR: Parents' concerns about children are highly prevalent but often not confirmed by child doctors and nurses. BMC Public Health. 2008, 8: 124-10.1186/1471-2458-8-124.CrossRefPubMedPubMedCentral
5.
Verhulst FC, Ende Van der J: Factors associated with child mental health service use in the community. J Am Acad Child Adolesc Psychiatry. 1997, 36: 901-909. 10.1097/00004583-199707000-00011.CrossRefPubMed
6.
Durlak JA, Wells AM: Evaluation of indicated preventive intervention (secondary prevention) mental health programs for children and adolescents. Am J Community Psychol. 1998, 26: 775-802. 10.1023/A:1022162015815.CrossRefPubMed
7.
Jellinek M, Evans N, Knight RB: Use of a behavior checklist on a pediatric inpatient unit. J Pediatr. 1979, 94: 156-158. 10.1016/S0022-3476(79)80386-8.CrossRefPubMed
8.
Jellinek M, Murphy JM, Robinson J, Feins A, Lamb S, Fenton T: Pediatric Symptom Checklist: screening schoolage children for psychosocial dysfunction. J Pediatr. 1988, 112: 201-209. 10.1016/S0022-3476(88)80056-8.CrossRefPubMed
9.
Jellinek MS, Murphy JM, Burns BJ: Brief psychosocial screening in outpatient pediatric practice. J Pediatr. 1986, 109: 371-378. 10.1016/S0022-3476(86)80408-5.CrossRefPubMed
10.
Jellinek MS, Murphy JM: Use of the Pediatric Symptom Checklist in outpatient practice. Curr Probl Pediatr. 1990, 602-609. 10.1016/0045-9380(90)90031-U.
11.
Goodman R, Ford T, Simmons H, Gatward R, Meltzer H: Using the Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire (SDQ) to screen for child psychiatric disorders in a community sample. Int Rev Psychiatry. 2003, 15: 166-172. 10.1080/0954026021000046128.CrossRefPubMed
12.
Goodman R, Scott S: Comparing the Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire and the Child Behavior Checklist: is small beautiful?. J Abnorm Child Psychol. 1999, 27: 17-24. 10.1023/A:1022658222914.CrossRefPubMed
13.
Van Ede J, De Rover C, Verhappen MJ, De Vries-Lequin I: PSYBOBA. een pilotstudy naar de mogelijkheden van gebruik van een signaleringsinstrument voor Psychosociale Problematiek in de Bovenbouw van het Basisonderwijs. 2003, Utrecht: GGD Nederland
14.
Reijneveld SA, Vogels AG, Brugman E, van Ede J, Verhulst FC, Verloove-Vanhorick SP: Early detection of psychosocial problems in adolescents: how useful is the Dutch short indicative questionnaire (KIVPA)?. Eur J Public Health. 2003, 13: 152-159. 10.1093/eurpub/13.2.152.CrossRefPubMed
15.
Vogels T, Reijneveld SA, Brugman E, Hollander-Gijsman M, Verhulst FC, Verloove-Vanhorick SP: Detecting psychosocial problems among 5-6-year-old children in preventive Child Health Care: the validity of a short questionnaire used in an assessment procedure for detecting psychosocial problems among children. Eur J Public Health. 2003, 13: 353-360. 10.1093/eurpub/13.4.353.CrossRefPubMed
16.
Zeijl E, Crone MR, Wiefferink CH, Keizenkamp S, Reijneveld SA: Children in the Netherlands [in Dutch]. 2005, The Hague: SCP
17.
Bengi-Arslan L, Verhulst FC, Crijnen AA: Prevalence and determinants of minor psychiatric disorder in Turkish immigrants living in The Netherlands. Soc Psychiatry Psychiatr Epidemiol. 2002, 37: 118-124. 10.1007/s001270200003.CrossRefPubMed
18.
Verhulst FC, Koot HM: Manual for the CBCL/4-18 [in Dutch]. 1996, Rotterdam: EUR/Sophia Kinderziekenhuis
19.
Verhulst FC, Koot HM, Ende Van der J: Differential predictive value of parents' and teachers' reports of children's problem behaviors: a longitudinal study. J Abnorm Child Psychol. 1994, 22: 531-546. 10.1007/BF02168936.CrossRefPubMed
20.
Bourdon KH, Goodman R, Rae DS, Simpson G, Koretz DS: The Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire: U.S. normative data and psychometric properties. J Am Acad Child Adolesc Psychiatry. 2005, 44: 557-564. 10.1097/01.chi.0000159157.57075.c8.CrossRefPubMed
21.
Goodman R, Meltzer H, Bailey V: The Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire: a pilot study on the validity of the self-report version. Eur Child Adolesc Psychiatry. 1998, 7: 125-130. 10.1007/s007870050057.CrossRefPubMed
22.
Crone MR, Vogels AG, Hoekstra F, Treffers PD, Reijneveld SA: A comparison of four scoring methods based on the parent-rated Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire as used in the Dutch preventive child health care system. BMC Public Health. 2008, 8: 106-10.1186/1471-2458-8-106.CrossRefPubMedPubMedCentral
23.
Goodman R, Renfrew D, Mullick M: Predicting type of psychiatric disorder from Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire (SDQ) scores in child mental health clinics in London and Dhaka. Eur Child Adolesc Psychiatry. 2000, 9: 129-134. 10.1007/s007870050008.CrossRefPubMed
24.
Klasen H, Woerner W, Rothenberger A, Goodman R: [German version of the Strength and Difficulties Questionnaire (SDQ-German)--overview and evaluation of initial validation and normative results]. Prax Kinderpsychol Kinderpsychiatr. 2003, 52: 491-502.PubMed
25.
Koskelainen M, Sourander A, Kaljonen A: The Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire among Finnish school-aged children and adolescents. Eur Child Adolesc Psychiatry. 2000, 9: 277-284. 10.1007/s007870070031.CrossRefPubMed
26.
Malmberg M, Rydell AM, Smedje H: Validity of the Swedish version of the Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire (SDQ-Swe). Nord J Psychiatry. 2003, 57: 357-363. 10.1080/08039480310002697.CrossRefPubMed
27.
Mullick MS, Goodman R: Questionnaire screening for mental health problems in Bangladeshi children: a preliminary study. Soc Psychiatry Psychiatr Epidemiol. 2001, 36: 94-99. 10.1007/s001270050295.CrossRefPubMed
28.
Muris P, Meesters C, Berg Van den F: The Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire (SDQ)--further evidence for its reliability and validity in a community sample of Dutch children and adolescents. Eur Child Adolesc Psychiatry. 2003, 12: 1-8. 10.1007/s00787-003-0298-2.CrossRefPubMed
29.
Van Widenfelt BM, Goedhart AW, Treffers PD, Goodman R: Dutch version of the Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire (SDQ). Eur Child Adolesc Psychiatry. 2003, 12: 281-289. 10.1007/s00787-003-0341-3.CrossRefPubMed
30.
Jellinek MS, Murphy JM: Screening for psychosocial disorders in pediatric practice. Am J Dis Child. 1988, 142: 1153-1157.PubMed
31.
Jellinek MS, Murphy JM, Little M, Pagano ME, Comer DM, Kelleher KJ: Use of the Pediatric Symptom Checklist to screen for psychosocial problems in pediatric primary care: a national feasibility study. Arch Pediatr Adolesc Med. 1999, 153: 254-260.CrossRefPubMedPubMedCentral
32.
Jutte DP, Burgos A, Mendoza F, Ford CB, Huffman LC: Use of the Pediatric Symptom Checklist in a low-income, Mexican American population. Arch Pediatr Adolesc Med. 2003, 157: 1169-1176. 10.1001/archpedi.157.12.1169.CrossRefPubMed
33.
Reijneveld SA, Vogels AG, Hoekstra F, Crone MR: Use of the Pediatric Symptom Checklist for the detection of psychosocial problems in preventive child healthcare. BMC Public Health. 2006, 6: 197-10.1186/1471-2458-6-197.CrossRefPubMedPubMedCentral
34.
Guillemin F: Cross-cultural adaptation and validation of health status measures. Scand J Rheumatol. 1995, 24: 61-63. 10.3109/03009749509099285.CrossRefPubMed
35.
Arbuckle J, Wothke W: AMOS 4.0 User Guide. 1999, Chicago: Small Waters Corporation
36.
Byrne BM: Structural Equation Modeling with AMOS. Basic Concepts, applications and programnming. 2001, Mahwah, New Jersey: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates, Inc. Publishers
37.
Goedhart A, Treffers F, Van Widenfelt B: Inquiring about mental health problems among children and adolescents: de Strenghts and Difficulties Questionnaire (SDQ) (in Dutch). Maandbl Geestelijke Volksgezondh. 2003, 58: 1018-1035.
38.
Murphy JM, Arnett HL, Bishop SJ, Jellinek MS, Reede JY: Screening for psychosocial dysfunction in pediatric practice. A naturalistic study of the Pediatric Symptom Checklist. Clin Pediatr (Phila). 1992, 31: 660-667. 10.1177/000992289203101104.CrossRef
Metadata
Title
Comparing three short questionnaires to detect psychosocial dysfunction among primary school children: a randomized method
Authors
Antonius GC Vogels
Matty R Crone
Femke Hoekstra
Sijmen A Reijneveld
Publication date
01-12-2009
Publisher
BioMed Central
Published in
BMC Public Health / Issue 1/2009
Electronic ISSN: 1471-2458
DOI
https://doi.org/10.1186/1471-2458-9-489

Other articles of this Issue 1/2009

BMC Public Health 1/2009 Go to the issue

Research article

Dietary and other lifestyle characteristics of Cypriot school children: results from the nationwide CYKIDS study

Research article

Severe MUPS in a sick-listed population: a cross-sectional study on prevalence, recognition, psychiatric co-morbidity and impairment

Research article

Sociodemographic correlates of food habits among school adolescents (12–15 year) in north Gaza Strip

Study protocol

Oral cholera vaccine use in Zanzibar: socioeconomic and behavioural features affecting demand and acceptance

Research article

Determinants of knowledge of HIV status in South Africa: results from a population-based HIV survey

Research article

Pregnant women's attitudes towards alcohol consumption