Multitrait–Multimethod Analysis of the Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire in Young Asian American Children

Abstract

The Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire (SDQ) is a widely used psychopathology screening tool that measures children’s emotional symptoms, peer problems, conduct problems, hyperactivity/inattention, and prosocial behavior. Previous psychometric studies of the SDQ focused primarily on older children in Western cultures and suffered from several methodological limitations. This study examined the reliability, factor structure, convergent, and discriminant validity of the SDQ by focusing on young Asian American children and using more rigorous methods. The five-factor structure of the SDQ was confirmed by confirmatory factor analysis. The ω coefficients indicated adequate reliability for all subscales except parent-rated peer problems and conduct problems. The correlated trait–correlated method minus one multitrait–multimethod model provided evidence for convergent validity and discriminant validity of all subscales except for conduct problems relative to hyperactivity/inattention. This study provided new evidence for the psychometric properties of the SDQ in young children and cultural suitability of the SDQ for Asian Americans.