Results of the parent-rated Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire in 22,108 primary school students from 8 provinces of China

BACKGROUND: A valid screening tool for behavioral and emotional problems in children and adolescents is needed to promote psychological wellbeing and to prevent mental disorders in China's children. AIM: Assess the use of the Chinese version of the internationally recognized Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire (SDQ) – which assesses emotional symptoms, conduct problems, hyperactivity/inattention, peer relationship problems and prosocial behaviors – in a large sample of urban and rural children from different parts of China. METHODS: The Chinese version of the parent-reported SDQ was administered to legal guardians (primarily parents) of a stratified random sample of 22,108 primary school children 5 to 13 years of age from eight provinces in China. The association between SDQ scores and socio-demographic characteristics was assessed and the percentile cutoff scores for ‘abnormal’, ‘borderline’ and ‘normal’ results in China were compared with those for Japan and the United Kingdom. RESULTS: The internal consistency of the 4 of the 5 SDQ subscales were satisfactory but that for the ‘peer relationships problems’ subscale was quite poor (alpha=0.22). Guardians reported that boys were more likely than girls to have hyperactivity/inattention problems and that girls were more likely than boys to have problems with emotional symptoms. For both boys and girls hyperactivity/inattention problems decreased with age while peer relationship problems increased with age. Emotional symptoms, conduct problems and peer relationship problems were more common in children from rural areas and in children whose identified guardian was not a parent (i.e., a grandparent or other relative). The 90(th) percentile cutoff score for abnormal results was higher in Chinese children than the cutoff scores reported for children in Japan and the United Kingdom. CONCLUSIONS: This study suggests that prevention programs for hyperactivity/inattention problems in boys need to start before the age of 10 and that training in methods of reducing the stress associated with peer relationships should start in early adolescence. Further work is needed to improve the cultural validity of the SDQ in China and to determine its sensitivity and specificity for identifying children who are in need of mental health services.