Using the Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire (SDQ) to screen for child psychiatric disorders in a community sample
2000/12/01 by Robert Goodman, Tamsin Ford, Helen Simmons +3 · 1,841 citations
Medicine · Psychology · #Anxiety #Anxiety disorder #Child and Adolescent Psychosocial and Emotional Development #Child and adolescent psychiatry #Clinical psychology #Medicine #Mental Health Treatment and Access #Mental health #Phobias #Psychiatric assessment #Psychiatric diagnosis #Psychiatry #Psychology #Schizophrenia (object-oriented programming) #Schizophrenia research and treatment #Specific phobia #Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire
paper · pdf · doi:10.1192/bjp.177.6.534
published in The British Journal of Psychiatry 177(6), 534-539 (Cambridge University Press)
openalex publication_date 2000/12/01 · openalex created_date 2025/10/10 · openalex updated_date 2026/08/04
Abstract
BACKGROUND: Child psychiatric disorders are common and treatable, but often go undetected and therefore remain untreated. AIMS: To assess the Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire (SDQ) as a potential means for improving the detection of child psychiatric disorders in the community. METHOD: SDQ predictions and independent psychiatric diagnoses were compared in a community sample of 7984 5- to 15-year-olds from the 1999 British Child Mental Health Survey. RESULTS: Multi-informant (parents, teachers, older children) SDQs identified individuals with a psychiatric diagnosis with a specificity of 94.6% (95% Cl 94.1-95.1%) and a sensitivity of 63.3% (59.7-66.9%). The questionnaires identified over 70% of individuals with conduct, hyperactivity, depressive and some anxiety disorders, but under 50% of individuals with specific phobias, separation anxiety and eating disorders. Sensitivity was substantially poorer with single-informant rather than multi-informant SDQs. CONCLUSIONS: Community screening programmes based on multi-informant SDQs could potentially increase the detection of child psychiatric disorders, thereby improving access to effective treatments.
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