Normative Data of Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire Parent Form in Indian Children Between the Ages of 6 and 11 Years.

Abstract

Background: We aimed to study the prevalence of behavioral problems among school-going children, the factors affecting them, and to establish normative scores for the Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire (SDQ) parent form.

Methods: A cross-sectional questionnaire-based study was conducted among schoolchildren aged 6-11 years from two primary schools in South India. Parents of children included in the study were asked to fill out the Kannada/English version of the SDQ Parent Form.

Results: The SDQ parent report forms were filled by parents of 671 children, of which 49.8% (n = 334) were boys with a M: F ratio of 1:1.01. There was an equal distribution across different age groups. The comparison of scores between boys and girls showed no statistically significant difference in all scales except for the hyperactivity subscale, where the boys had a higher score with a median (IQR) of 4 (2,5) compared to the girls' score of 3 (1,4) (p = .001). Regarding age, although the total difficulties score, conduct problems score, hyperactivity score, and internalizing score were higher in the 9-11-year-old group than in the 6-8-year-old group, the p value was not significant. Children of fathers with higher educational status scored better in the peer problems and prosocial scores. The newer cut-off scores have been generated and are divided into four bands, similar to the 4-band categorization on the SDQ scoring site.

Conclusions: Boys had higher scores on the hyperactivity subscale than girls. Normative data for Indian children aged 6-11 years have been generated and are similar to UK data.