Hostname: page-component-586b7cd67f-l7hp2 Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-11-20T16:39:47.293Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

Strengths and difficulties questionnaire-teacher: Investigating its factor structure and utility with culturally and linguistically diverse students

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  26 February 2020

Nigar G. Khawaja Open the ORCID record for Nigar G. Khawaja [Opens in a new window]  and
Lakshmi Dhushyanthakumar
Nigar G. Khawaja*
Affiliation:
School of Psychology and Counselling, Queensland University of Technology, Brisbane, Queensland, Australia
Lakshmi Dhushyanthakumar
Affiliation:
School of Psychology and Counselling, Queensland University of Technology, Brisbane, Queensland, Australia
*
*Corresponding author. Email: [email protected]
Get access

Abstract

The Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire (SDQ), with its three forms (youth, parent and teacher version), is widely used to assess emotional and behavioural disorders in children and adolescents. The present study examined the factor structure and psychometric properties of the teacher version of the scale (SDQ-T) with adolescents from culturally and linguistically diverse (CALD) background. It also explored the impact of demographic factors on the mental health outcomes of CALD adolescents in the school setting as indicated by SDQ-T. Teachers from a Special English language transitional school in Brisbane, Australia completed the SDQ-T for 175 culturally and linguistically diverse adolescents. The exploratory factor analysis indicated a 23-item scale with a four-factor structure: Prosocial Behaviour, Hyperactivity, Emotional Symptoms, and Behavioural Problems. The revised scale had sound internal consistency. Findings indicated that CALD adolescents from refugee backgrounds scored higher on Emotional Symptoms, Conduct and Peer Problems, and SDQ total difficulties. There were no differences on subscale scores based on gender or English language proficiency. SDQ-T emerged as a promising scale that can be used to understand CALD adolescents’ postmigration emotional experiences, risks and protective factors. The implications of the SDQ-T in schools with adolescents from migrant and refugee backgrounds are discussed.

Keywords

adolescentsAustraliaculturally and linguistically diverseStrengths and Difficulties Questionnairescale
Type
Articles
Information
Journal of Psychologists and Counsellors in Schools , Volume 30 , Issue 1 , June 2020 , pp. 43 - 57
Check for updates
Copyright
© The Author(s) 2020. Published by Cambridge University Press

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

Achenbach, T., Becker, A., Döpfner, M., Heiervang, E., Roessner, V., Steinhausen, H., & Rothenberger, A. (2008). Multicultural assessment of child and adolescent psychopathology with ASEBA and SDQ instruments: Research findings, applications, and future directions. Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry, 49, 251–275.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Adusei-Asante, K., & Adibi, H. (2018). The ‘Culturally and Linguistically Diverse’ (CALD) label: A critique using African migrants as exemplar. Australasian Review of African Studies, 39, 74–84.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Askell-Williams, H., & Lawson, M.J. (2013). Teachers’ knowledge and confidence for promoting positive mental health in primary school communities. Asia-Pacific Journal of Teacher Education, 41, 126–143.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Baak, M. (2016). Overcoming the ‘hidden injuries’ of students from refugee backgrounds: The importance of caring teacher–student relationships. In Sullivan, A., Johnson, B., & Lucas, B. (Eds.), Challenging dominant views on student behaviour at school: Answering back (pp. 145–161). Singapore: Springer Singapore.Google Scholar
Bauer, A., Chen, C., & Alegría, M. (2010). English language proficiency and mental health service use among Latino and Asian Americans with mental disorders. Medical Care, 48, 1097–1104.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Becker, A., Rothenberger, A., & Sohn, A. (2014). Six years ahead: A longitudinal analysis regarding course and predictive value of the Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire (SDQ) in children and adolescents. European Child & Adolescent Psychiatry, 24, 715–725.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Berry, J., Phinney, J., Sam, D., & Vedder, P. (2006). Immigrant youth: Acculturation, identity, and adaptation. Applied Psychology, 55, 303–332.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Bhugra, D. (2015). Migration and mental health. European Psychiatry, 30, 88–88. 2CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Briggs, F. (1997). The importance of schools and early childhood centres in child protection. Journal of Child Centred Practice, 4, 11–23.Google Scholar
Bourdon, K.H.Goodman, R., Rae, D.S., Simpson, G., & Koretz, D.S. (2005). The Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire: U.S. normative data and psychometric properties. Journal of American Academy of Child Adolescent Psychiatry, 44, 557–564.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Centre for Multicultural Youth (CMY). (2014). The CALD Adolescents Census Report 2014: The First Australian Census Data Analysis of Young People from Culturally and Linguistically Diverse Backgrounds. Melbourne, Australia: Author.Google Scholar
Child, D. (2006). The essentials of factor analysis. Oxford, England: Holt, Rinehart & Winston.Google Scholar
Derluyn, I., & Broekaert, E. (2007). Different perspectives on emotional and behavioural problems in unaccompanied refugee children and adolescents. Ethnicity & Health, 12, 141–162.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Dunteman, G.H. (1989). Quantitative applications in the social sciences: Principal components analysis. Newbury Park, CA: SAGE Publications.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Eklund, K., & Dowdy, E. (2013). Screening for behavioral and emotional risk versus traditional school identification methods. School Mental Health, 6, 40–49.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Essau, C.A., Olaya, B., Anastassiou-Hadjicharalambous, X., Pauli, G., Gilvarry, C., Bray, D., … Ollendick, T. (2012). Psychometric properties of the Strength and Difficulties Questionnaire from five European countries. International Journal of Methods in Psychiatric Research, 21, 232–245.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Fazel, M., Doll, H., & Stein, A. (2009). A school-based mental health intervention for refugee children: An exploratory study. Clinical Child Psychology and Psychiatry, 14, 297–309.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Fenollar-Cortés, J., Calvo-Fernández, A., & García-Sevilla, J. (2016). Strength and Difficulties Questionnaire (SDQ) as predictor of ADHD: Performance between SCT rates and ‘Hyperactivity/Impulsivity’ and ‘inattention’ domains of ADHD in a clinical sample. Anales de Psicología, 32, 313–319.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Goodman, R. (1997). The Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire. Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry, 38, 581–586.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Goodman, R. (2001). Psychometric properties of the Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire. Journal of the American Academy of Child & Adolescent Psychiatry, 40, 1337–1345.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Göran Svedin, C., & Priebe, G. (2008). The Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire as a screening instrument in a community sample of high school seniors in Sweden. Nordic Journal of Psychiatry, 62, 225–232.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Gorsuch, R.L. (1983). Factor analysis (2nd ed.). Hillsdale, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates.Google Scholar
Graham, H., Minhas, R., & Paxton, G. (2016). Learning problems in children of refugee background: A systematic review. Pediatrics, 137, e20153994.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Hatcher, L. (1994). A step-by-step approach: To using the SAS system for factor analysis and structural equation modeling. Cary, NC: SAS Institute.Google Scholar
Hawes, D., & Dadds, M. (2004). Australian data and psychometric properties of the Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire. Australian and New Zealand Journal of Psychiatry, 38, 644–651.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
He, J., Burstein, M., Schmitz, A., & Merikangas, K. (2013). The Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire (SDQ): The factor structure and scale validation in U.S. adolescents. Journal of Abnormal Child Psychology, 41, 583–595.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Hilario, C.T., Vo, D.X., Johnson, J.L., & Saewyc, E.M. (2014). Acculturation, gender, and mental health of Southeast Asian immigrant Adolescents in Canada. Journal of Immigrant and Minority Health, 16, 1121–1129.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Horn, J. (1965). A rationale and test for the number of factors in factor analysis. Psychometrika, 30, 179–185.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Kaiser, H. (1974). An index of factorial simplicity. Psychometrika, 39, 31–36.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Keles, S., Friborg, O., Idsoe, T., Sirin, S., & Oppedal, B. (2016). Resilience and acculturation among unaccompanied refugee minors. International Journal of Behavioral Development, 36, 163–173.Google Scholar
Khawaja, N.G., Allan, E., & Schweitzer, R.D. (2018). The role of school connectedness and social support in the acculturation of culturally and linguistically diverse youth in Australia. Australian Psychologist, 53, 355–364.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Khawaja, N.G., Ibrahim, O., & Schweitzer, R.D. (2017). Mental wellbeing of students from refugee and migrant backgrounds: The mediating role of resilience. School of Mental Health, 9, 284–293.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Kim, G., Worley, C., Allen, R., Vinson, L., Crowther, M., Parmelee, P., & Chiriboga, D. (2011). Vulnerability of older Latino and Asian Immigrants with limited English proficiency. Journal of the American Geriatrics Society, 59, 1246–1252.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Lemmermann, D., & Riphahn, R.T. (2018). The causal effect of age at migration on youth educational attainment. Economics of Education Review, 63, 78–99.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Leth, I., Niclasen, J., Ryding, E., Baroud, Y., & Esbjørn, B. (2014). Psychological difficulties among children and adolescents with ethnic Danish, immigrant, and refugee backgrounds. Scandinavian Journal of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry and Psychology, 2, 29–37.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Liu, S., Chien, Y, Shang, C., Lin, C., Liu, S., & Gau, S.S. (2013). Psychometric properties of the Chinese version of Strength and Difficulties Questionnaire. Comprehensive Psychiatry, 54, 720–730.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Loewenthal, K. (2001). An introduction to psychological tests and scales (1st ed.). Hove, UK: Psychological Press.Google Scholar
Marbley, A.F. (2011). Multicultural counseling: Perspectives from counselors as clients of color. New York, NY: Routledge.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Measham, T., Guzder, J., Rousseau, C., Pacione, L., Blais-McPherson, M., & Nadeau, L. (2014). Refugee children and their families: Supporting psychological well-being and positive adaptation following migration. Current Problems in Pediatric and Adolescent Health Care, 44, 208–215.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Mellor, D. (2005). Normative data for the Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire in Australia. Australian Psychologist, 40, 215–222.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Mieloo, C., Raat, H., van Oort, F., Bevaart, F., Vogel, I., Donker, M., & Jansen, W. (2012). Validity and reliability of the Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire in 5–6 Year olds: Differences by gender or by parental education? Plos ONE, 7, e36805.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Miller, E., Ziaian, T., & Esterman, A. (2018). Australian school practices and the education experiences of students with a refugee background: A review of the literature. International Journal of Inclusive Education, 22, 339–359.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Momartin, S., Steel, Z., Coello, M., Aroche, J., Silove, D.M., & Brooks, R. (2006). A comparison of the mental health of refugees with temporary versus permanent protection visas. Medical Journal of Australia, 185, 357–361.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Motti-Stefanidi, F., & Coll, C.G. (2018). We have come a long way, baby: ‘Explaining positive adaptation of immigrant adolescents across cultures’. Journal of Adolescence, 62, 218–221.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Multicultural Youth Advocacy Network, Australia. (2016). National Adolescents Resettlement Framework. Retrieved from http://www.myan.org.au/file/file/MYAN_Youth_Settlement_Framework_April.Google Scholar
Osborne, J.W., & Costello, A.B. (2009). Best practices in exploratory factor analysis: Four recommendations for getting the most from your analysis. Pan-Pacific Management Review, 12, 131–146.Google Scholar
Priest, N., Baxter, J., & Hayes, L. (2012). Social and emotional outcomes of Australian children from Indigenous and culturally and linguistically diverse backgrounds. Australian and New Zealand Journal of Public Health, 36, 183–190.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Racz, S.J., King, K.M., Wu, J., Witkiewitz, K., & McMahon, R.J. (2013). The predictive utility of a brief kindergarten screening measure of child behavior problems. Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology, 81, 588–599.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Robert, A.M., & Gilkinson, T. (2010). Mental health and well-being of recent immigrants in Canada: Evidence from the longitudinal survey of immigrants to Canada. Ottawa, Canada: Citizenship and Immigration Canada.Google Scholar
Roeser, R., Eccles, J., & Sameroff, A. (2000). School as a context of early adolescents’ academic and social-emotional development: A summary of research findings. The Elementary School Journal, 100, 443–471.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Ruchkin, V., Koposov, R., Vermeiren, R., & Schwab-Stone, M. (2012). The Strength and Difficulties Questionnaire: Russian validation of the teacher version and comparison of teacher and student reports. Journal of Adolescence, 35, 87–96.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Russell, G., Rodgers, L., & Ford, T. (2013). The Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire as a predictor of parent-reported diagnosis of autism spectrum disorder and attention deficit hyperactivity disorder. Plos ONE, 8, e80247.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Santos, C.E., & Collins, M.A. (2016). Ethnic identity, school connectedness, and achievement in standardized tests among Mexican-origin youth. Cultural Diversity and Ethnic Minority Psychology, 22, 447–452.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Sawrikar, P., & Katz, I. (2009, July). How useful is the term Culturally and Linguistically Diverse (CALD) in the Australian social policy discourse? Paper presented at Australian Social Policy Conference (ASPC), University of New South Wales, Sydney, Australia.Google Scholar
Shonkoff, J.P., & Phillips, D.A. (2000). From neurons to neighbourhoods: The science of early childhood development. Washington, DC: National Academy Press.Google Scholar
Shute, R. (2012). Promoting mental health through schools: Is this field of development an evidence-based practice? Psychologist, 25, 752–755.Google Scholar
Sirin, S.R., Ryce, P., Gupta, T., & Rogers-Siring, L. (2013). The role of acculturative stress on mental health symptoms for immigrant adolescents: A longitudinal investigation. Developmental Psychology, 49, 736–748.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Stone, L., Otten, R., Engels, R., Vermulst, A., & Janssens, J. (2010). Psychometric properties of the parent and teacher versions of the Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire for 4- to 12-Year-Olds: A review. Clinical Child and Family Psychology Review, 13, 254–274.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Sue, D.W., & Sue, D. (2013). Counseling the culturally diverse: Theory and practice (6th ed.). Hoboken, NJ: Wiley.Google Scholar
Tabachnick, B.G., & Fidell, L.S. (2007). Using multivariate statistics. Boston, MA: Allyn and Bacon.Google Scholar
Taylor, S., & Sidhu, R.K. (2012). Supporting refugee students in schools: What constitutes inclusive education? International Journal of Inclusive Education, 16, 39–56.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR). (2004). 2003 global refugee trends: Overview of refugee populations, new arrivals, durable solutions, asylum-seekers and other persons of concern to UNHCR. United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees, Geneva.Google Scholar
Velicer, W. (1976). Determining the number of components from the matrix of partial correlations. Psychometrika, 41, 321–327.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Virupaksha, H., Kumar, A., & Nirmala, B.P. (2014). Migration and mental health: An interface. Journal of Natural Science, Biology and Medicine, 5, 233.Google Scholar
Wentzel, K. (1998). Social relationships and motivation in middle school: The role of parents, teachers, and peers. Journal of Educational Psychology, 90, 202–209.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Williamson, A., McElduff, P., Dadds, M., D’Este, C., Redman, S., Raphael, B., … Eades, S. (2014). The construct validity of the Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire for Aboriginal children living in urban New South Wales, Australia. Australian Psychologist, 49, 163–170.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Zhang, W., Hong, S., Takeuchi, D., & Mossakowski, K. (2012). Limited English proficiency and psychological distress among Latinos and Asian Americans. Social Science & Medicine, 75, 1006–1014.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Zlotnick, C., Birenbaum-Carmeli, D., Goldblatt, H., Dishon, Y., Taychaw, O., & Shadmi, E. (2016). Adolescent immigrants, the impact of gender on health status. The European Journal of Public Health, 27, 453–459.Google Scholar
Zubrick, S., Lawrence, D., de Maio, J., & Biddle, N. (2006). Testing the reliability of a measure of aboriginal children’s mental health: an analysis based on the western Australian Aboriginal child health survey. Canberra, Australia: Australian Bureau of Statistics.Google Scholar