Cor Meesters

The Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire (SDQ) Further evidence for its reliability and validity in a community sample of Dutch children and adolescents

Abstract. This study was a first attempt to examine the psychometric properties of the Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire (SDQ) in Dutch youths. A large sample of normal children and adolescents (N = 562) and their parents completed the SDQ along with a number of other psychopathology measures. Factor analysis of the SDQ yielded five factors that were in keeping with the hypothesised subscales of hyperactivity-inattention, emotional symptoms, peer problems, conduct problems, and prosocial behaviour. Furthermore, internal consistency, test-retest stability, and parent-youth agreement of the various SDQ scales were acceptable. Finally, the concurrent validity of the SDQ was good: that is, its scores correlated in a theoretically meaningful way with other measures of psychopathology. It can be concluded that the psychometric properties of the parent- and self-report version of the SDQ were satisfactory in this Dutch community sample. Moreover, the current data provide further support for the utility of the SDQ as an index of psychopathological symptoms in youths.

Comorbid anxiety symptoms in children with pervasive developmental disorders.

The present study examined the prevalence of comorbid anxiety symptoms in 44 children with pervasive developmental disorders. Parents of the children were interviewed using the Anxiety Disorders section of the Diagnostic Interview Schedule for Children. Results indicated that severe anxiety symptoms are highly prevalent in children with pervasive developmental disorders: 84.1% of the children met the full criteria for at least one anxiety disorder. Furthermore, 72.7% of the children displayed ritualistic behaviors. Implications of the findings are discussed.

The Self-Perception Profile for Children: further evidence for its factor structure, reliability, and validity

Abstract This article presents further evidence for the psychometric qualities of the Self-Perception Profile for Children (SPPC), a widely used questionnaire for assessing self-esteem in youths. The SPPC was administered to a large sample of Dutch school children (N=1143) in order to study its factor structure, reliability (internal consistency and test–retest stability), and validity. Results showed that the hypothesized factor structure of the SPPC representing five specific domains of self-esteem (i.e. scholastic competence, social acceptance, athletic competence, physical appearance, and behavioral conduct) provided a reasonable fit for the data. Furthermore, the reliability of the scale appeared to be satisfactory with good internal consistency and test–retest stability. Finally, evidence was also obtained for the validity of the SPPC. More specifically, the scale correlated in a theoretically meaningful way with child-, parent-, and teacher-reports of psychopathology and personality. Altogether, the current findings confirm the notion that the SPPC is a reliable and valid self-report measure for assessing childrens self-esteem.

Worry in Normal Children

OBJECTIVE To investigate worry in a nonclinical sample of children aged 8 to 13 years (N = 193). METHOD Children were interviewed about the content, characteristics, origins, and severity of their main intense worry. Furthermore, children completed questionnaires to study the relationship between worry, trait anxiety, and depression. RESULTS Almost 70% of the children reported that they worried every now and then. The content of these worries predominantly pertained to school performance, dying and health, and social contacts. An examination of the characteristics of childrens main intense worries revealed that these worries occurred on average 2 to 3 days per week, were accompanied by modest levels of interference and anxiety, elicited relatively high levels of resistance, and were rather difficult to control. A minority of the children were found to exhibit symptoms of worry in the pathological range: the percentages of children who met the DSM-III-R criteria of overanxious disorder and generalized anxiety disorder were 4.7% and 6.2%, respectively. Finally, worry, anxiety, and depression seemed to be strongly related. CONCLUSION Worry seems to be a common phenomenon in normal children aged between 8 and 13 years.

Self-reported attachment style, attachment quality, and symptoms of anxiety and depression in young adolescents

Abstract The Attachment Questionnaire for Children (AQ-C) is a simplified version of Hazan and Shaver’s (1987) single-item measure of attachment style [Hazan, C., & Shaver, P. (1987). Romantic love conceptualized as an attachment process. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 52, 511–524]. Briefly, children are provided with three descriptions concerning their feelings about and perception of relationships with other children. Children are instructed to choose the description that applies best to them. In this way, children classify themselves as either securely, avoidantly, or ambivalently attached. The present study investigated the validity of the AQ-C in a sample of 12–14 year-old adolescents ( N =155). Participants were asked to complete the AQ-C, the Inventory of Parent and Peer Attachment as a measure of attachment quality, and scales of anxiety and depression. Results indicated that adolescents who classified themselves as securely attached displayed a higher quality of attachment than adolescents who classified themselves as insecurely (i.e. avoidantly or ambivalently) attached. Furthermore, securely attached adolescents scored significantly lower on anxiety and depression than insecurely attached adolescents. Altogether, these findings support the validity of the AQ-C.

The self‐report version of the Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire: Its psychometric properties in 8‐ to 13‐year‐old non‐clinical children

OBJECTIVE To examine the reliability and validity of the self-report version of the Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire (SDQ) in relatively young children. METHOD The SDQ was administered to a large sample of non-clinical children (n = 1111) aged 8-13 years. In a subsample (n = 439), self-report SDQ scores of children with and without behaviour problems were compared, and related to the teacher version of the SDQ, the Youth Self-Report and the Teacher Report Form. RESULTS Although the reliability of the self-report SDQ was somewhat less satisfactory in the younger children of our sample, most other psychometric properties were acceptable and comparable to those obtained in older youths. CONCLUSION While the self-report SDQ was designed for youths aged 11 years and above, the current data seem to suggest that the scale may provide useful information about psychopathological symptoms in children as young as 8 years old.

Worry in Children is Related to Perceived Parental Rearing and Attachment

In a sample of 159 primary school children, the relationship between perceived parental rearing behaviours and self-reported attachment style, on the one hand, and worry, on the other hand, was investigated. Children completed (a) the EMBU, a questionnaire measuring perceptions of parental rearing behaviours, (b) a single-item measure of attachment style, and (c) the Penn State Worry Questionnaire for Children (PSWQ-C), an index of severity of worrying. Results showed that parental rearing behaviours, in particular rejection and anxious rearing, were positively associated with worry. Thus, children who perceived their parents as more rejective and anxious reported higher levels of worry. Furthermore, self-reported attachment style appeared to be related to worry. More specifically, children who classified themselves as avoidantly or ambivalently attached displayed higher levels of worry than did children who classified themselves as securely attached. These findings are consistent with the notion that family environment factors such as parental rearing and attachment style contribute to the severity of anxiety symptoms in children.

Internalizing and Externalizing Problems as Correlates of Self-Reported Attachment Style and Perceived Parental Rearing in Normal Adolescents

The current study examined relationships between attachment style, parental rearing behaviors, and symptoms of internalizing and externalizing in a large sample of nonreferred adolescents (N = 742). Adolescents completed (a) a single-item measure of attachment style, (b) the child version of the EMBU, a questionnaire measuring perceptions of parental rearing behaviors, and (c) the Youth Self-Report, an index of severity of internalizing and externalizing symptoms. Results showed that attachment style was related to internalizing as well as externalizing symptoms. More specifically, adolescents who classified themselves as avoidantly or ambivalently attached displayed higher levels of internalizing and externalizing symptoms than adolescents who classified themselves as securely attached. Furthermore, perceived parental rearing behaviors were also associated with internalizing and externalizing symptoms. That is, low levels of emotional warmth and high levels of rejection and overprotection were accompanied by high levels of psychopathological symptoms. Finally, both attachment and parental rearing behaviors accounted for a unique proportion of the variance in internalizing symptoms. Yet, when predicting externalizing symptoms, only parental rearing behaviors declared a significant proportion of the variance.

Psychometric evaluation of the Dutch version of the Aggression Questionnaire

Confirmatory factor analyses were done in an attempt to replicate the factor structure of the Aggression Questionnaire constructed by Buss and Perry (1992) [Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 63, 452-459] in a Dutch sample. The findings indicated that the Buss and Perry 4-factor model provided a poor fit to the full 29-item questionnaire. Although generally confirming the 4-factor structure, subsequent analyses revealed that a better fit was obtained by omitting 3 items (1 Verbal Aggression and 2 Hostility items). In general, the present findings are rather similar to previous research and emphasize the importance of assessing not only overall aggression but also its separate components.

Protective and vulnerability factors of depression in normal adolescents

The present study investigated the role of various protective and vulnerability factors in the development of depressive symptoms. A sample of normal adolescents (N=373) completed the Childrens Depression Inventory and measures of a negative attributional style, parental rearing behaviour, coping styles, and perceived self-efficacy. In addition to computing the correlations between depression and these protective and vulnerability factors, the present data were also subjected to structural equations modelling to examine the correlational structure of the data. Depression was accompanied by high levels of parental rejection, negative attributions, and passive coping, and by low levels of active coping and self-efficacy. Furthermore, a model in which negative parental rearing behaviour and a negative attributional style featured as the primary sources of depression, while coping styles and self-efficacy played a mediating role in the formation of depressive symptoms, provided a reasonable fit for the data.