Effectiveness of the Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire in Measuring Behavior - Essay Example

Methodology Assignment The Strengths and Difficulty Questionnaire (SDQ) refers to a small-scale testing questionnaire designed to measure emotionaland/or behavioural difficulties in children and adolescents. There are several methodologies used for SDQs to meet the specific purpose of surveys. The rationales adopted for carrying out particular studies are broadly categorised into three parts: 25 items on psychological dimensions, impact supplement and follow-up questions. The primary objective of SDQs is to assist adolescents overcome the difficulties they are facing. This paper is going to account for a survey conducted on the basis of particular objectives. The SDQ acts a psychometric tool to assess multifaceted academic as well as nonacademic parameters for defining the self. (Rush et al., p. 370) As a behavioural screening instrument, the SDQ has earned itself an international status by virtue of its effectiveness. Extensive research studies and surveys are carried out prior to an SDQ so that all probable measuring constructs are utilised to their fullest potential. The calculative scales include 1) Emotional symptoms, 2) Conduct problems, 3) Hyperactivity / Inattention, 4) Peer problems and 5) Prosocial behaviour. Generally all the 5 measuring components are taken into consideration for a thorough and result-oriented investigation. (Goodman, 1997) Departing from the broader context of SDQs, this assignment zooms on the inventories obtained and used for looking into behavioural difficulties in native Australian children. Quantitative analysis is generally preferred to quantitative scoring since the former approach incorporates more statistical data. The logic behind taking a huge quantity for an authentic and reliable result is that it nullifies the risk of errors in categorisation for scores that are just above and below the accepted cut-off parameter. For example, if the cut off point for a specific diagnosis is set as 15, any score just above and below 15 (such as 14 and 16) is supposed to be theoretically different even though there might be very little or no difference between such scores. (Rutter, & Taylor, p. 71) Considering this factor, the survey was conducted among 22900 children belonging to the age group between 4 and 17 years. The indigenous grouping was preferred to random selection on the basis of social and psychological relatedness among the candidates. They were picked from urban areas and outskirts of Western Australia. (Western Australia Aboriginal Child Health Survey, 2007) The teacher report was designed as per the standardised measuring scale format, including the previously mentioned 25 psychological attributes. The teacher version of the questionnaire demonstrated credibility as far as representing the community sample is concerned, and it also identified different classes of disorders within the non-subjective sample. (Muris et al., 1-8) Based on the findings, the total Strength and Difficulties score arrayed from 0 to 40. Those who aggregated scores between 0 and 13 were classified into low risk category; those who aggregated scores between 14 and 16 were grouped under moderate risk and the rest scoring between 17 and 40 were reported to have high risk as far as emotional and/or behavioural difficulties was concerned. Needless to mention, the high risk category needed special clinical attention. In this project, scores obtained the first 4 of the 5 scales were amassed initially to measure the Strength and Difficulties sum score. The following table illustrates on this furthermore: SDQ Teacher Rated Score Sheet: Total Difficulties Score (25 Items) Emotional Symptoms Scale (Score Range 0-10) Not True Somewhat True Certainly True Score Often complains of headaches, stomach-aches Many worries, often seems worried Often unhappy, depressed or tearful Nervous or clingy in alien situation Many fears, easily scared Total= Conduct Problems Scale (Score Range 0-10) Not True Somewhat True Certainly True Score Often has temper tantrums or hot tempers Generally obedient Often fights with other children or bullies them Often lies or cheats Steals from home, school or elsewhere Total= Hyperactivity / Inattention Scale (Score Range 0-10) Not True Somewhat True Certainly True Score Restless, overactive, cannot stay still for long Constantly fidgeting or squirming Easily distracted, concentration wanders Thinks things out before acting Sees tasks through to the end, good attention span Total= Peer Problems Scale (Score Range 0-10) Not True Somewhat True Certainly True Score Rather solitary, tends to play alone Has at least one good friend Generally liked by other children Picked on or bullied by other children Gets on better with adults than other children Total= Prosocial Behaviour Scale (Score Range 0-10) Not True Somewhat True Certainly True Score Considerate of other people's feelings Shares readily with other children Helpful if someone is hurt or upset Kind to younger children Often volunteers to help others Total= Table 1 (COMHWA, 2003) Based on the points calculated in Table 1, 24% aboriginal children aged between 4 and 17 years were reported to have high risk emotional and/or behavioural difficulties. Take a look at the graph below: Graph 1 (Western Australia Aboriginal Child Health Survey, 2007) Compared to the age group mentioned above, 1200 children between 4 and 11 years faced the same types of problems. It reveals that the percentage of the affected children tends to remain the same with preadolescents. 21% native inhabitants aged 12 to 17 years were diagnosed with high risk emotional and/or behavioural difficulties. However, the non-aboriginal groups of children showed relatively healthier statistics in terms of carrying high risk difficulties. Graph 2 (Western Australia Aboriginal Child Health Survey, 2007) A definitive pattern was established in the peer problems scale in terms of degree of isolation. Both male and female adolescents were reported to have suffered from extreme loneliness, as opposed to children hailing from other parts of Australia. This clearly indicates that being in the thick of actions in urban hubs helps adolescents overcome the problems of isolation. Thoroughly examining the report of the survey, experts have singled out the chief factors responsible for the psychiatric aberrations found in the sample entropy. An assortment of social circumstances, lifestyle processes and health conditions are involved in the difficulties. They primarily include: Routine stress factors Poor quality of parenting Disintegrated family functioning Deteriorating physical health of caregivers Children with speech disabilities A number of defensive elements were identified as beneficial for adolescents. For example, children aged between 4 and 11 years and staying in homes most of the times were less likely to be affected by serious disturbances as opposed to those who spend not so much time at homes. This investigation provides self-explanatory ground since kids of that age generally need love and support of their parents and other immediate family members. Therefore, it is important for them to be in reciprocal touch with their loved ones as far as possible. Similarly, the study also unearthed the fact that children living in remotest parts were exposed to developing emotional and behavioural difficulties due to lack of attention from others. A few more potentially troublemaking components included: Children with vision problems Children with runny ears Condition of mental health services in Western Australia Number of homes Single parenting versus double parenting The last point needs some clarification as it is a globally acknowledged reason for numerous adolescent difficulties, especially with regards to psychological disorders. Researches have shown time and again that kids living under the careful vigilance of both parents do not show up disturbing syndromes. Moreover, if one of the parents is non-working, the process of childrearing becomes all the more smoother. Contrary to this, if a child is brought up by single parent, its mental growth remains unfulfilled in many respects. While some may overcome the problems, majority of them are reported to have developed psychological retardation. If kept limited to adolescent age only, gender and age do not normally exert any significant impact on the findings of the SDQ. It is only in case of certain factors that girls and boys show specific strengths and weaknesses. For example, boys tend to have higher emotional balance, problem solving capabilities and self-respect. Girls show a far greater level of trustworthiness and honesty along with spiritual values. Similarly, increasing age of the participants hardly changes the outcome of the survey. Even though Shavelson argued that awareness of the self develops with increasing chronological age, he hardly put forward any data to defend the viability of his position. (Brinthaupt, and Lipka, p. 83) Looking into how the subscales conformed to main categories, the SDQ seems to be a very useful tool for testing cognitive health problems. The survey clearly brought into daylight the areas of concern for the native children of South Australia. The comparative study with non-aboriginal children highlighted the risk factors all the more. Taking into account the results, the SDQ can be used more frequently among people from cross-cultural backgrounds speaking different tongues. The current study was a perfect example of how the theoretical spectrum correlated the scores. Thus, it is imperative to be more proactive in carrying out similar studies in a broader scale. Radical yet well-devised methodologies are to be taken in order to ameliorate the health hazards faced by these children. References Goodman, Robert. (1997). The Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire: A Research Note. Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry, 38 (5), 581-586. Rutter, Michael., and Taylor Eric A. (2002). Child and Adolescent Psychiatry. Hoboken: Blackwell Publishing, 2002. Western Australia Child Health Survey. (2007, September 5). Social and Emotional Wellbeing. Retrieved March 2, 2009 from http://www.ichr.uwa.edu.au/waachs/themes/wellbeing Rush, John A., First, Michael B., and Blacker, Deborah. Handbook of Psychiatric Measures. Arlington: American Psychiatric Pub, 2008. COMHWA. Retrieved March 2, 2009 from http://72.14.235.132/searchq=cache:ZyjvXoyySGMJ:www.comhwa.health.wa.gov.au/one/uploads/resource/81/SDQ%2520Teacher%2520Rated%2520Score%2520Sheet.doc+SDQ+Teacher+Rated+Score+Sheet+%E2%80%93+Total+Difficulties+Score+(25+Items)&hl=en&ct=clnk&cd=1&gl=in Muris, Peter., Meesters, Cor., and Berg, Frank van den. (2003). The Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire (SDQ). European Child & Adolescent Psychiatry, 12, 1-8. Brinthaupt, Thomas M., and Lipka, Richard P. The Self: Definitional and Methodological Issues. Albany: SUNY Press, 1992. 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