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Psychometric Properties of the Teacher Version of the Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire in Abu Dhabi Kindergarten Children: An Item Response Theory Analysis

Shaljan Areepattamannil1*, Mary-Lynn Woolsey1, Suha Al-Hassan1, Lilly Tennant1, Myint Swe Khine1, Michael Melkonian1, Fatimah F. Rashad1, Cara D. Williams1 and Sara Al Suwaidi2
  • 1 Emirates College for Advanced Education, United Arab Emirates
  • 2 Abu Dhabi Department of Education and Knowledge, United Arab Emirates

The Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire (SDQ; Goodman, 1997) assesses prosocial behavior and psychopathology in children and adolescents aged 3 to 16 years. A large body of research, primarily employing classical test theory-based psychometric methods, has demonstrated the reliability and validity of the parent- and teacher-versions of the SDQ in children and adolescents hailing from various countries across the globe (e.g., Cheng et al., 2017; DeVries, Gebhardt, & Voß, 2017; Kersten, Czuba, McPherson, Dudley, Elder, Tauroa, & Vandal, 2016; Kersten, Vandal, Elder, Tauroa, & McPherson, 2017; van den Heuvel, Jansen, Stewart, Smits-Engelsman, Reijneveld, & Flapper, 2017). However, there is an acute shortage of studies examining the psychometric properties of the parent- and teacher-versions of the SDQ using modern test theory techniques, such as Rasch analysis and item response theory (IRT). Investigating the psychometric properties of the SDQ employing modern test theory techniques across cultures is warranted to accurately capture and portray the psychometric characteristics of the scale. Therefore, the present study, using IRT techniques, aimed at examining the psychometric properties of the teacher-version of the SDQ in children enrolled in public kindergartens in the Emirate of Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates. Prior to running IRT analyses, a one-factor confirmatory factor analysis (CFA), using Mplus 7.4 (Muthén & Muthén, 1998-2015), was conducted to determine the unidimentionality of the SDQ. The CFA results indicated that the SDQ was adequately unidimensional for performing a unidimensional IRT analysis. The standardized LD chi-square statistics suggested that the sample data met the assumption of local independence. The ordered polytomous IRT model, Samejima’s (1969) graded response model, was used to estimate the item parameters, employing IRTPRO. The model-data fit at the item level was found to be reasonable.

References

Cheng, S., Keyes, K. M., Bitfoi, A., Carta, M. G., Koç, C., Goelitz, D., . . . Kovess-Masfety, V. (2018). Understanding parent–teacher agreement of the Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire (SDQ): Comparison across seven European countries. International Journal of Methods in Psychiatric Research, 27(1), e1589. doi:10.1002/mpr.1589
DeVries, J. M., Gebhardt, M., & Voß, S. (2017). An assessment of measurement invariance in the 3-and 5-factor models of the Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire: New insights from a longitudinal study. Personality and Individual Differences, 119, 1-6.
Goodman, R. (1997). The Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire: a research note. Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry, 38(5), 581-586.
Kersten, P., Czuba, K., McPherson, K., Dudley, M., Elder, H., Tauroa, R., & Vandal, A. (2016). A systematic review of evidence for the psychometric properties of the Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire. International Journal of Behavioral Development, 40(1), 64-75.
Kersten, P., Vandal, A. C., Elder, H., Tauroa, R., & McPherson, K. M. (2017). Concurrent validity of the Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire in an indigenous pre-school population. Journal of Child and Family Studies, 26(8), 2126-2135.
Samejima, F. (1969). Estimation of latent ability using a response pattern of graded scores (Psychometric Monograph No. 17, Part 2). Richmond, VA: Psychometric Society.
van den Heuvel, M., Jansen, D. E., Stewart, R. E., Smits-Engelsman, B. C., Reijneveld, S. A., & Flapper, B. C. (2017). How reliable and valid is the teacher version of the Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire in primary school children? PloS One, 12(4), e0176605.

Keywords: The strengths and difficulties questionnaire, item response theory, psychometric properties, kindergarten children, Abu Dhabi

Conference: 3rd International Conference on Educational Neuroscience, Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates, 11 Mar - 12 Mar, 2018.

Presentation Type: Poster Presentation

Topic: Educational Neuroscience

Citation: Areepattamannil S, Woolsey M, Al-Hassan S, Tennant L, Khine M, Melkonian M, Rashad FF, Williams CD and Al Suwaidi S (2018). Psychometric Properties of the Teacher Version of the Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire in Abu Dhabi Kindergarten Children: An Item Response Theory Analysis. Conference Abstract: 3rd International Conference on Educational Neuroscience. doi: 10.3389/conf.fnhum.2018.225.00024

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Received: 07 Mar 2018; Published Online: 14 Dec 2018.

* Correspondence: Dr. Shaljan Areepattamannil, Emirates College for Advanced Education, Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates, sareepattamannil@ecae.ac.ae