DISCLAIMER
Strength & Difficulties This project has been funded with
support from the European Com-
Questionnaire mission (Erasmus+). The document
reflects the views only of the ACE-
(SDQ) Wild team and the Commission
cannot be held responsible for any
use which may be made of the in-
formation contained therein.
Website: w w w .sdqinfo.org
(Please consult the website for latest questionnaires and information)
The SDQ is a brief behavioural screening questionnaire
designed to identify potential psychiatric and mental health
disorders in young people. Primarily used by researchers
and clinicians around the world, it is also a useful tool for
educational practitioners wishing to measure change during
specific programmes.
Measures:
emotional problems
conduct problems
hyperactivity problems
peer problems
PDF 1 Student SDQ
prosocial difficulties
Type:
Paper-based questionnaire, 25 statements on a 3 point scale - “not true”,
“somewhat true”, “certainly true” (PDF 1). Plus extra optional questions - the
“impact supplement” - which ask whether the respondent thinks the young
person has a problem, and if so, enquires further about chronicity, distress,
social impairment, and burden to others. Questionnaires for teachers, pupils and
parents.
Suitable for:
Ages 3 - 16 years
As a “before and after” tool to measure change during an
intervention/programme (summative assessment)
Permission/cost: free but unauthorized translations are not permitted.
Paper versions may be downloaded and subsequently photocopied without
charge by individuals or non-profit organizations provided they are not making
any charge to families.
Pros Cons
Flexible user group - pupils, parents and stu- May need explaining as easy to complete
dent versions wrong way round, eg not true for certainly
true
Used internationally - and available in many Lots of questions in dull-looking format
languages
Robustly tested Reasonable literacy level required
Updated (in spite of 2005 date on paper
Free
Score can be compared to national average
Online scoring system and automatic report
generation
Hints & Tips:
Encourage your students to be honest when completing the form - and
explain why you are asking them to complete the questions
Be with the students when they complete the questionnaire as reflection
on statements may generate distress for some.
Use the online scoring system to generate a PDF summary of the results,
but
To present students’ results in a visual way (the PDF report is all text), you
may wish to set up a spreadsheet for the scores, so that bar charts can be
produced.
SDQ worked example
Scoring
Whilst it is easiest to use the online scoring system on the website to generate
scores and results, it is helpful to know how the scores are generated. We have
therefore included the manual scoring system, too, for guidance.
1. Manual Scoring
A scoring sheet is available on the
website (also P DF 2). Each item is
scored as 1, 2 or 3 depending on which
column is ticked. “Somewhat True” is
always scored as 1 but the scoring of
“Not True” and “Certainly True” varies
with the item.
For each of the categories - emotional,
conduct, hyperactivity, peer and
prosocial - the maximum score is 10.
The higher the score, the greater
the difficulty EXCEPT for pro-social
which is scored as a strength, with a
higher score indicating a greater
strength in this area.
PDF 2 Manual SDQ scoring sheet
Following scoring you can determine:
A “total difficulties” score - generated by
summing scores from all of the categories except the prosocial scale,
resulting in a score out of 40. It categorises these scores as “Close to
Average”, “Slightly Raised”, “High” or “Very High” compared to the national
average for that age group
The higher the total score, the greater the total difficulties
A risk factor - Low, Medium or High.
This is the risk of the student developing a mental health disorder based on
national averages for that age group.
SDQ worked example
2. Online scoring
The website has an online scoring system which enables you to enter the results
from each questionnaire. It then automatically generates a PDF summary report
containing:
A total difficulties score (termed “overall stress”)
Scores for each of the categories, including pro-social
An impact score (out of 10) if the impact supplement is used, and
Risk factors for potential disorders
An example is given below. (SDQ was also completed by the parent, not shown)
Conduct difficulties (max 10) Total difficulties (max 40)
Peer difficulties (max 10)
Pro-social strengths (max 10)
Impact score (max 10)
Risk of mental disorder
SDQ worked example
Analysis & Presentation
In the UK, we set up a spreadsheet to record the SDQ scores for each pupil so
that the results could be presented in a variety of ways.
We used the classroom teacher’s assessment for quantitative analysis of
total difficulties but included parents’ and students’ SDQ results to determine
overall risk factors.
The example given below illustrates the SDQ scores for students before (Sep
2015) and after (Dec 2015)a weekly programme of outdoor learning. We used a
traffic-light colour coding system to quickly identify major difficulties for each
student and highlight changes. This information could then be used to
determine which type of activities from the activity bank may be most
appropriate for individuals or the group as a whole.
SDQ worked example
Analysis & Presentation
Difficulties for individual students can be represented as bar charts using the
data from the spreadsheet.
The example above shows how a students’ total difficulties decreased following
a programme of outdoor learning (Sep - Dec 2015) and how their pro-social
strengths increased.
Group difficulties can also be charted to
illustrate change following an intervention
or other style of programme.
SDQ worked example
Analysis & Presentation
Risk factors - getting professional support
Where the SDQ results indicate a high risk of mental health disorder (as in the
example below) specialist, professional assistance may be needed to support
the student’s emotional well-being and minimize risk of disorders developing.
In the above instance, the student attended the Nurture unit at the high school,
rather than mainstream classes, to help reduce the student’s anxieties and
fears. The SDQ tool, in combination with discussions with parents and teachers,
allowed a well-informed decision to be made to effectively meet the student’s
needs.
