Adaptation of the Strength and Difficulties Questionnaire for Use in the Republic of Georgia

BACKGROUND: Children in low-resource countries like Georgia often have limited access to assessment measures for mental health care services. This study adapts and validates the mental health screening tool the Strength and Difficulties Questionnaire for use in Georgian children. METHODS: A total of 16 654 children were assessed by a parent and/or teacher using Georgian-adapted Strength and Difficulties Questionnaire. Receiver operating characteristic analyses were performed to assess the discriminative validity of the Strength and Difficulties Questionnaires and to establish an optimal cutoff score. RESULTS: Data from 15 738 parents- and 13 560 teachers-administered Strength and Difficulties Questionnaire were analyzed. The internal consistency analysis showed Cronbach’s alpha to be 0.625 and 0.621 for parent- and teacher-administered Strength and Difficulties Questionnaire, respectively. The area under the curve (95% CI) shows that the Strength and Difficulties Questionnaire can differentiate risk group children from typically developing peers: parent-administered questionnaires—0.629 (0.556-0.702) and teacher-administered questionnaires—0.680 (0.611-0.789). Parent-administered Strength and Difficulties Questionnaire has a cutoff value of 16 or more with 92.5% of sensitivity and teacher-administered Strength and Difficulties Questionnaire—14 or more with a sensitivity of 85.6%. CONCLUSION: The study finds that the Strength and Difficulties Questionnaire is a valid screening instrument and does not depend on the informant—parent or teacher. It suggests that with appropriate cultural adaptation, the SDQ can be used in the Republic of Georgia to identify children at risk for mental disorders and help guide resource allocation.