PURPOSE: The Strength and Difficulties Questionnaire (SDQ) is widely used internationally, however less so in preschool populations and validations studies are thus needed. This study examined the psychometric properties of the Norwegian version parent report of the SDQ - preschool version (SDQ 2-4). MATERIALS AND METHODS: Parents of 289 Norwegian children in the age span 1-6 years old filled out the SDQ 2-4, the Child Behavior Checklist (CBCL), and background information. Internal consistency, factor structure, and convergent validity were assessed. RESULTS: The results showed satisfying internal consistency for the total difficulties score, but worse for some of the subscales. The five-factor structure showed a good fit. Good convergent and divergent validity was found in terms of correlations with CBCL. Sex differences were found on all scales, boys scoring higher on all problem scales. CONCLUSIONS: The SDQ 2-4 can be a promising instrument to screen for emotional and behavioral difficulties among Norwegian preschoolers, particularly in high-risk populations.
Questionnaires often consist of scales composed of different questions and are intended to measure a given factor, for example anxiety or depression. Internal consistency is a measure of the strength of the relationship between questions in the same scale.
Reproducibility of Results , Humans , Surveys and Questionnaires
PURPOSE: The caregiver-teacher report form (C-TRF) is included in the Achenbach system of empirically based assessment (ASEBA) and widely used to measure child psychopathology. In Norway, the C-TRF is frequently used by the Educational and Psychological Counselling Service or for referrals to special health services, however, its psychometric properties in the Norwegian context have not yet been explored. The aim of this study was to investigate the internal consistency of the C-TRF and its factorial validity in a Norwegian preschool context. METHOD: This study is based on baseline data from the project Children in Central Norway, where a total of 169 preschool teachers reported on the C-TRF for 1430 children aged 1-6 years. RESULTS: The findings indicate promising psychometric properties for the C-TRF in terms of internal consistency and factorial validity, however, the somatic complaints scale seems problematic because of its poor psychometric properties. CONCLUSION: Users of the C-TRF can be confident in the instrument's applicability in a Norwegian context, however, careful considerations when applying the somatic complaints scale in clinical decision making is warranted.
Caregivers , School Teachers , Child, Preschool , Humans , Psychometrics , Reproducibility of Results , Schools , Surveys and Questionnaires
Background: The Drug-Induced Extrapyramidal Symptoms Scale (DIEPSS) is a multidimensional rating scale designed for the fast, easy and reliable assessment of extrapyramidal symptoms (EPSs) induced by antipsychotics. Aim: The aim of this study was to validate the level of inter-rater and test-retest reliability of the Norwegian translation of this scale. Methods: A total of 125 video clips showing a variety of or no signs of EPSs were used in the present study. The participants recorded were Japanese psychiatric patients receiving first- and/or second-generation antipsychotics. A total of 103 patients (47 males and 56 females), diagnosed with schizophrenia (n = 68) or mood disorders (n = 35) appeared in the video clips. Their mean age was 48.7 ± 16.3 years (range 18-80) at the time of video recording. Inter-rater agreement was assessed with five raters and test-retest reliability with three. Results: Inter-rater reliability analyses showed interclass correlation coefficients (ICCs) ranging from 0.74 to 0.93 for each individual item. Test-retest reliability analysed independently for each rater ranged from 0.71 to 0.96. Conclusions: Inter-rater and test-retest agreement exhibited satisfactory ICC levels above 0.70. The Norwegian version of the DIEPSS is a reliable instrument for the assessment of drug-induced EPSs.
Antipsychotic Agents/adverse effects , Basal Ganglia Diseases/chemically induced , Basal Ganglia Diseases/diagnosis , Mental Disorders/drug therapy , Psychiatric Status Rating Scales/standards , Adolescent , Adult , Aged , Aged, 80 and over , Basal Ganglia Diseases/epidemiology , Female , Humans , Japan/epidemiology , Male , Mental Disorders/epidemiology , Mental Disorders/psychology , Middle Aged , Reproducibility of Results , Video Recording/standards , Young Adult
BACKGROUND: Early detection of mental health problems in childhood is important. However, studies on screening instruments for preschool children are rare. The aim of this study was to validate the Ages and Stages Questionnaire: Social-Emotional (ASQ:SE) with teacher reports and examine its screening accuracy in a preschool population. METHODS: A total of 1428 children, aged 18 months - 5 years, attending child-care centers were recruited in Norway. Their teachers completed a survey including the ASQ:SE and the Caregiver-Teacher Report Form (C-TRF). The Spearman's correlation was calculated for the convergence between the ASQ:SE and the C-TRF and the screening accuracy of the ASQ:SE was assessed using receiver operating characteristic (ROC) analysis with the criterion of a score at or above the 90th percentile for the C-TRF total problem score. RESULTS: The Spearman's correlation between the total scores for the ASQ:SE and the C-TRF were from .49 to .72. The ROC analyses demonstrated that the ASQ:SE had a promising ability to classify children at risk based on the C-TRF criterion with AUC ranging from .87 to .96 for the different forms. The ASQ:SE generally demonstrated high specificity across all forms and some forms (from age 30 months upwards) produced both high sensitivity and high specificity using the selected cutoff values. CONCLUSIONS: The ASQ:SE could serve as a good starting point for screening for social-emotional problems among children in child-care centers. The 30- to 60-month ASQ:SE forms exhibit promising psychometric properties and may prove useful for early detection. The 18- to 24-month ASQ:SE forms demonstrate more limited efficacy in detecting children at risk.
