The German Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire (SDQ) : Validity of the Teacher Version for Preschoolers

Abstract

The Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire (SDQ) is a screening instrument that addresses positive and negative behavioral attributes of children and adolescents. Although this questionnaire has been used in Germany to gather information from parents and teachers of preschoolers, few studies exist that verify the validity of the German SDQ for this age. In the present study, teacher ratings were collected for 282 children aged 36 to 60 months (boys = 156; girls = 126). Likewise, teacher ratings were collected with another German checklist for behavior problems and behavior disorders at preschool age (Verhaltensbeurteilungsbogen für Vorschulkinder, VBV 3–6). Moreover, children’s developmental status was assessed. Evaluation included correlation analysis as well as canonical correlation analysis to assess the multivariate relationship between the set of SDQ variables and the set of VBV variables. Discriminant analyses were used to clarify which SDQ variables are useful to differentiate between children with or without developmental delay in a multivariate model. The results of correlation and discriminant analyses underline the validity of the SDQ for preschoolers. According to these results, the German teacher SDQ is recommended as a convenient and valid screening instrument to assess positive and negative behavior of preschool age children.