Objective: To examine the screening ability of the Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire (SDQ) for ADHD subtypes in a clinical sample. Method: Parents of 523 children (3 to 17 years old) referred to Child and Adolescent Mental Health Services completed the Spanish version of the SDQ and the ADHD Rating Scale–IV. Receiver operating curve (ROC) curve analyses and likelihood ratios (LRs) were conducted. Results: The LR results indicated that the 8/10 cutoff showed the highest diagnostic accuracy. The sensitivity of the SDQ 8/10 cutoff for the three subtypes was significantly different: 84.0% (95% confidence interval [CI] = [75.58, 89.90]) of ADHD combined subtype (ADHD-Co), 25.0% (95% CI = [17.55, 34.30]) of ADHD predominantly inattentive subtype (ADHD-I), and 77.8% (95% CI = [68.71, 84.83]) of ADHD predominantly hyperactive/impulsive subtype (ADHD-H). Sex and age differences were found. These screening differences were also found when using the 7/10 cutoff or the SDQ predictive algorithm. Conclusion: Our study supports the use of the SDQ in the screening for ADHD. However, not all ADHD subtypes are equally screened.
AchenbachT. M. (1991). Manual for the Child Behavior Checklist and Profile. Burlington: Department of Psychiatry, University of Vermont.
2.
AlyahriA.GoodmanR. (2006). Validation of the Arabic Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire and the Development and Well-Being Assessment. Eastern Mediterranean Health Journal, 12, 138-146.
3.
American Psychiatric Association. (2000). Diagnostic and statistical manual of mental disorders (4th ed., text rev.). Washington, DC: Author.
4.
BeckerA.WoernerW.HasselhornM.BanaschewskiT.RothenbergerA. (2004). Validation of the parent and teacher SDQ in a clinical sample. European Child & Adolescent Psychiatry, 13(Suppl. 2), 11-16.
5.
BradleyR. H.CorwynR. F. (2002). Socioeconomic status and child development. Annual Review of Psychology, 53, 371-399.
6.
CuffeS. P.MooreC. G.McKeownR. E. (2005). Prevalence and correlates of ADHD symptoms in the national health interview survey. Journal of Attention Disorders, 9, 392-401.
7.
CuffeS. P.MooreC. G.McKeownR. E. (2009). ADHD and health services utilization in the national health interview survey. Journal of Attention Disorders, 12, 330-340.
8.
CurtisL. J.DooleyM. D.LipmanE. L.FeenyD. H. (2001). The role of permanent income and family structure in the determination of child health in Canada. Journal of Health Economics, 10, 287-302.
9.
DeeksJ. J.AltmanD. G. (2004). Diagnostic tests 4: Likelihood ratios. British Medical Journal, 329, 168-169.
10.
DooleyM.StewartJ. (2007). Family income, parenting styles and child behavioural-emotional outcomes. Journal of Health Economics, 16, 145-162.
11.
DopfnerM.BreuerD.WilleN.ErhartM.Ravens-SiebererU. (2008). How often do children meet ICD-10/DSM-IV criteria of attention deficit-/hyperactivity disorder and hyperkinetic disorder? Parent-based prevalence rates in a national sample—Results of the BELLA study. European Child & Adolescent Psychiatry, 17(Suppl. 1), 59-70.
12.
DuY.KouJ.CoghillD. (2008). The validity, reliability and normative scores of the parent, teacher and self report versions of the Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire in China. Child and Adolescent Psychiatry and Mental Health, 2(1), Article 8.
13.
DuPaulG. J.PowerT. J.AnastopoulosA. D.ReidR. (1998). ADHD Rating Scale IV: Checklists, norms, and clinical interpretation. New York, NY: Guilford Press.
14.
EzpeletaL.GraneroR.de la OsaN.PeneloE.DomenechJ. M. (2012). Psychometric properties of the Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire (3-4) in 3-year-old preschoolers. Comprehensive Psychiatry, 54, 282-291.
15.
Fajardo BullónF.León Del BarcoB.Felipe CastañoE.Ribeiro Dos SantosE. J. (2012). Mental health in the age group 4-15 years based on the results of the national survey of health 2006, Spain. Revista Española de Salud Pública, 86, 445-451.
16.
FroehlichT. E.LanphearB. P.EpsteinJ. N.BarbaresiW. J.KatusicS. K.KahnR. S. (2007). Prevalence, recognition, and treatment of attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder in a national sample of US children. Archives of Pediatric & Adolescent Medicine, 161, 857-864.
17.
GaubM.CarlsonC. L. (1997). Gender differences in ADHD: A meta-analysis and critical review. Journal of the American Academy of Child & Adolescent Psychiatry, 36, 1036-1045.
18.
GershonJ. (2002). A meta-analytic review of gender differences in ADHD. Journal of Attention Disorders, 5, 143-154.
19.
GoodmanR. (1997). The Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire: A research note. Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry, 38, 581-586.
20.
GoodmanR.FordT.SimmonsH.GatwardR.MeltzerH. (2000). Using the Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire (SDQ) to screen for child psychiatric disorders in a community sample. The British Journal of Psychiatry, 177, 534-539.
21.
GoodmanR.RenfrewD.MullickM. (2000). Predicting type of psychiatric disorder from Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire (SDQ) scores in child mental health clinics in London and Dhaka. European Child & Adolescent Psychiatry, 9, 129-134.
22.
GoodmanR.ScottS. (1999). Comparing the Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire and the Child Behavior Checklist: Is small beautiful?Journal of Abnormal Child Psychology, 27, 17-24.
23.
GraetzB. W.SawyerM. G.BaghurstP. (2005). Gender differences among children with DSM-IV ADHD in Australia. Journal of the American Academy of Child & Adolescent Psychiatry, 44, 159-168.
24.
HoltmannM.BeckerA.BanaschewskiT.RothenbergerA.RoessnerV. (2011). Psychometric validity of the Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire–Dysregulation Profile. Psychopathology, 44, 53-59.
25.
KlasenH.WoernerW.WolkeD.MeyerR.OvermeyerS.KaschnitzW.. . . GoodmanR. (2000). Comparing the German versions of the Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire (SDQ-Deu) and the Child Behavior Checklist. European Child & Adolescent Psychiatry, 9, 271-276.
26.
LaheyB.ApplegateB.BarkleyR.GarfinkelB.McBurnettK.KerdykL.. . . ShafferD. (1994). DSM-IV field trials for oppositional defiant disorder and conduct disorder in children and adolescents. American Journal of Psychiatry, 151, 1163-1172.
27.
LaiK. Y.LukE. S.LeungP. W.WongA. S.LawL.HoK. (2010). Validation of the Chinese version of the Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire in Hong Kong. Social Psychiatry & Psychiatric Epidemiology, 45, 1179-1186.
28.
MalmbergM.RydellA. M.SmedjeH. (2003). Validity of the Swedish version of the Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire (SDQ-Swe). Nordic Journal of Psychiatry, 57, 357-363.
29.
MathaiJ.AndersonP.BourneA. (2004). Comparing psychiatric diagnoses generated by the Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire with diagnoses made by clinicians. Australian & New Zealand Journal of Psychiatry, 38, 639-643.
30.
McBurnettK.PfiffnerL. J.SwansonJ. M.OttoliniY. L.TammL. (1995, May). Clinical correlates of children retrospectively classified by DSM-IV ADHD subtypes: Contrast with field trials impairment patterns. Paper presented at the International Conference on Research and Practice in ADD, Jerusalem, Israel.
31.
MullickM.GoodmanR. (2001). Questionnaire screening for mental health problems in Bangladeshi children: A preliminary study. Social Psychiatry & Psychiatric Epidemiology, 36, 94-99.
32.
NussbaumN. L. (2012). ADHD and female specific concerns: A review of the literature and clinical implications. Journal of Attention Disorders, 16, 87-100.
33.
PelhamW. E.FabianoG. A.MassettiG. M. (2005). Evidence-based assessment of attention deficit hyperactivity disorder in children and adolescents. Journal of Clinical Child & Adolescent Psychology, 34, 449-476.
34.
PliszkaS. R., & AACAP Work Group on Quality Issues. (2007). Practice parameter for the assessment and treatment of children and adolescents with attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder. Journal of the American Academy of Child & Adolescent Psychiatry, 46, 894-921.
35.
RajmilL.Palacio-VieiraJ. A.HerdmanM.López-AguilàS.Villalonga-OlivesE.ValderasJ. M.. . . AlonsoJ. (2009). Effect on health-related quality of life of changes in mental health in children and adolescents. Health and Quality of Life Outcomes, 7, Article 103.
36.
RamtekkarU. P.ReiersenA. M.TodorovA. A.ToddR. D. (2010). Sex and age differences in attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder symptoms and diagnoses: Implications for DSM-IV and ICD-11. Journal of the American Academy of Child & Adolescent Psychiatry, 49, 217-228.
37.
Rodríguez-HernándezP. J.BetancortM.Ramírez-SantanaG. M.GarcíaR.Sanz-ÁlvarezE. J.de las Cuevas-CastresanaC. (2012). Psychometric properties of the parent and teacher versions of the Strength and Difficulties Questionnaire (SDQ) in a Spanish sample. International Journal of Clinical and Health Psychology, 12, 265-279.
38.
SamadL.HollisC.PrinceM.GoodmanR. (2005). Child and adolescent psychopathology in a developing country: Testing the validity of the Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire (Urdu version). International Journal of Methods in Psychiatric Research, 14, 158-166.
39.
StoneL. L.OttenR.EngelsR. M. C. E.VermulstA. A.JanssensJ. M. A. M. (2010). Psychometric properties for the Parent and Teacher Version of the Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire for 4-12 year-olds: A review. Clinical Child and Family Psychology Review, 13, 254-274.
40.
UllebøA. K.BreivikK.GillbergC.LundervoldA. J.PosserudM. B. (2012). The factor structure of ADHD in a general population of primary school children. Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry, 53, 927-936.
41.
UllebøA. K.PosserudM. B.HeiervangE.GillbergC.ObelC. (2011). Screening for the attention deficit hyperactivity disorder phenotype using the Strength and Difficulties Questionnaire. European Child & Adolescent Psychiatry, 20, 451-458.
42.
WoernerW.BeckerA.RothenbergerA. (2004). Normative data and scale properties of the German parent SDQ. European Child & Adolescent Psychiatry, 13(2), 3-10.
