Structural validity and reliability of the Danish self-report Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire among male and female students in vocational education and training.

Objective: The Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire (SDQ) is a widely used mental health screening instrument among children and adolescents and increasingly used by welfare professionals in Denmark. However, the psychometric properties of the SDQ-self report (SDQ-S) among vocational education and training (VET) students are unknown. We assess the structural validity, internal consistency reliability, and test-retest reliability of the Danish SDQ-S among these students. Method: The SDQ-S was tested twice in a sample of VET students (sample N = 486; mean age = 17 years) with 10 to 14 days in-between. Using separate analyses for men (n = 371) and women (n = 115), structural validity was assessed using confirmatory factor analysis; internal consistency was assessed using composite reliability (CR); and test-retest reliability using Pearson's correlation. Results: Overall, the results provide inconsistent support for the five-factor first-order model, especially among males. CR was acceptable for all five scales except for Peer problems (among females and males) and Conduct (among males only). Test-retest reliability was satisfactory for all scales among females but for only two of the five scales (Conduct, Hyperactivity) among men. Conclusion: Overall, the SDQ-S is a more valid and reliable instrument among females. Results suggest caution in using the SDQ-S among VET students, in particular males.

Suicide behavior in parents with alcohol abuse problems and suicide behavior in their offspring-adult offspring and counselor perspectives.

BACKGROUND: Suicide behavior is relatively common in families with alcohol problems. AIMS: This study explores associations between suicide behavior in parents with alcohol abuse problems and suicide behavior in their offspring. It aims to expand our understanding of the varied experiences of treatment-seeking young adults who grew up in families with alcohol problems. METHODS: 344 young adult children of alcoholics (ACAs) entering a Danish center for ACA counseling were surveyed about their childhood experiences regarding their own and their parents' attempted, threatened and completed suicide behavior. RESULTS: Parental suicide behavior was strongly associated with parental drinking; 46% of ACAs reported parental threatened, attempted or completed suicide behavior during their childhood, 13% of ACAs reported threatening suicide themselves, 15% of ACAs reported attempting suicide themselves. At least 54% of ACAs who had attempted suicide had done so without previously threatening suicide. There was a significant association between ACAs whose parents had committed suicide and ACAs who had attempted suicide during their childhood. There was also a significant association between ACAs where both parents had suicide behavior and ACA childhood suicide behavior. CONCLUSION: The study stresses the importance of addressing and assessing the family history of suicidal behavior in ACAs seeking counseling.

The adult children of alcoholics trauma inventory.

The Adult Children of Alcoholics Trauma Inventory (ACATI) registers variations in the recalled experience of growing up with problem drinkers. The ACATI includes measures of the duration and severity of parental alcohol-use-related problems, the drinking parents' behavior when intoxicated and sober, physical, psychological, and sexual abuse, and environmental factors. The ACATI correlated well with the Family Tree Questionnaire and showed excellent 14-day test-retest reliability for most variables. The test-retest was carried out in 2009 at a counseling service for young adults from families with alcohol-use-related problems in Denmark (N = 49).

PTSD-8: A Short PTSD Inventory.

Traumatic events pose great challenges on mental health services in scarcity of specialist trauma clinicians and services. Simple short screening instruments for detecting adverse psychological responses are needed. Several brief screening instruments have been developed. However, some are limited, especially in relation to reflecting the posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) diagnosis. Recently, several studies have challenged pre-existing ideas about PTSD's latent structure. Factor analytic research currently supports two four factor models. One particular model contains a dysphoria factor which has been associated with depression and anxiety. The symptoms in this factor have been hailed as less specific to PTSD. The scope of this article is therefore to present a short screening instrument, based on this research; Posttraumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) - 8 items. The PTSD-8 is shown to have good psychometric properties in three independent samples of whiplash patients (n=1710), rape victims (n=305), and disaster victims (n=516). Good test-rest reliability is also shown in a pilot study of young adults from families with alcohol problems (n=56).