Self-reported strengths and difficulties in a community sample of Finnish adolescents

Abstract

The psychometric properties of the self-report version of the Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire (SDQ) among Finnish 13- to 17-year-old adolescents (n = 1,458) were studied. The results show that the psychometric properties of the Finnish SDQ self-report were adequate. The results of the correlation analysis confirmed the postulated structure of the SDQ self-report. The correlations of the items to their respective subscales ranged from moderate to high (r = 0.47–0.73). The internal consistency was acceptable on three and somewhat lower on two of the five subscales (alpha = 0.53–0.71). In addition, the factor analysis sufficiently confirmed the postulated structure of the SDQ for girls and boys, except for the conduct problems scale of boys, which was fused with emotional symptoms and with hyperactivity. The means of the SDQ self-report total difficulties scores were very similar to those in a previous study in Great Britain. The results provide additional confirmation of the usefulness of the SDQ as a screening instrument in epidemiological research and clinical practice.