Investigating the factorial structure and measurement invariance of the parent-reported strengths and difficulties questionnaire at 11 years of age from the UK Millennium Cohort Study.

ABSTRACT: The strengths and difficulties questionnaire (SDQ) consist of five sub-scales that have been used to measure internalising and externalising symptoms in children, typically by combining sum scores of two sub-scales each, and pro-social behaviours. However, the different possible factorial structures that represent these symptoms have not been formally tested in a nationally representative sample of UK children. In addition, it is necessary to assess whether the SDQ is interpreted similarly across subgroups of the population. Exploratory and confirmatory factor analysis were used to test three competing structures for the parent-reported SDQ collected at age 11, the start of adolescence, in the UK Millennium Cohort Study (n = 11,519), and measurement invariance was assessed according to sex

SUBMITTER: Bridger Staatz C 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC10806008 | biostudies-literature | 2024 Jan

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature