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Social Psychiatry and Psychiatric Epidemiology
Published in: Social Psychiatry and Psychiatric Epidemiology 4/2007

01-04-2007 | ORIGINAL PAPER

Seemingly minor changes to a questionnaire can make a big difference to mean scores: a cautionary tale

Authors: Robert Goodman, Alessandra C. Iervolino, Stephan Collishaw, Andrew Pickles, Barbara Maughan

Published in: Social Psychiatry and Psychiatric Epidemiology | Issue 4/2007

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Abstract

Background

It is not unusual for researchers to make apparently minor modifications to existing instruments without checking if this alters psychometric properties.

Method

Equivalent items on child mental health from two different versions of the Rutter parent questionnaire were compared: items from the standard version and from a modified version. The parents of 400 children aged 5–7 years were randomised into two groups: each group completed one version of the Rutter as well as an independent measure of psychopathology (the Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire; SDQ).

Results

The mean psychopathology scores of the two groups were comparable according to the SDQ but differed markedly between the two Rutter versions, principally because of changes in the response categories. Nevertheless, the validity of the two versions of the Rutter was similar as judged from Rutter-SDQ correlations.

Conclusion

Seemingly minor changes in the wording of a measure can have a major impact on mean scores, thereby making it harder to compare or combine the results of studies using the original and the modified measure.
Literature
1.
Collishaw S, Maughan B, Goodman R, Pickles A (2004) Time trends in adolescent mental health. J Child Psychol Psych 45:1350–1362CrossRef
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Elander J, Rutter M (1995) Use and development of the Rutter Parents’ and Teachers’ Scales. Int J Methods Psych Res 5:1–16
3.
Ferri E, Bynner J, Wadsworth M (2003) Changing Britain, changing lives. Institute of Education Press, London
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Fogelman K (1983) Growing up in Great Britain. MacMillan, London
5.
Goodman R (1997) The Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire: A Research Note. J Child Psychol Psychiatry 38:581–586PubMedCrossRef
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Goodman R (1999) The extended version of the Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire as a guide to child psychiatric caseness and consequent burden. J Child Psychol Psych 40:791–801CrossRef
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Goodman R (2001) Psychometric properties of the Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire (SDQ). J Am Acad Child Adolesc Psych 40:1337–1345CrossRef
Metadata
Title
Seemingly minor changes to a questionnaire can make a big difference to mean scores: a cautionary tale
Authors
Robert Goodman
Alessandra C. Iervolino
Stephan Collishaw
Andrew Pickles
Barbara Maughan
Publication date
01-04-2007
Publisher
D. Steinkopff-Verlag
Published in
Social Psychiatry and Psychiatric Epidemiology / Issue 4/2007
Print ISSN: 0933-7954
Electronic ISSN: 1433-9285
DOI
https://doi.org/10.1007/s00127-007-0169-0

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