Multicultural assessment of child and adolescent psychopathology with ASEBA and SDQ instruments: research findings, applications, and future directions

Abstract

Around the world, cultural blending and conflict pose challenges for assessment and understanding of psychopathology. Economical, evidence-based, culturally robust assessment is needed for research, for answering public health questions, and for evaluating immigrant, refugee, and minority children. This article applies multicultural perspectives to behavioral, emotional, and social problems assessed on dimensions describing children's functioning, as rated by parents, teachers, children, and others. The development of Achenbach System of Empirically Based Assessment (ASEBA) and Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire (SDQ) forms and their applications to multicultural research are presented. A primary aim of both questionnaires is to identify children at high risk of psychiatric disorders and who therefore warrant further assessment. The forms are self-administered or administered by lay interviewers. ASEBA problem items are scored on 6 DSM-oriented scales and 3 broader band scales, plus 8 syndromes derived statistically as taxonomic constructs and supported by uniform confirmatory factor analyses of samples from many populations. Comparisons of ASEBA scale scores, psychometrics, and correlates are available for diverse populations. SDQ forms are scored on one broad-band scale and 5 a priori behavioral dimensions supported by data from various populations. For both instruments, factor analyses, psychometrics, and correlates are available for diverse populations. The willingness and ability of hundreds of thousands of respondents from diverse groups to complete ASEBA and SDQ forms support this approach to multicultural assessment. Although particular items and scales may have differential relevance among groups and additional assessment procedures are needed, comparable results are found in many populations. Scale scores vary more within than between populations, and distributions of scores overlap greatly among different populations. Ratings of children's problems thus indicate more heterogeneity within populations than distinctiveness between populations. Norms from multiple populations can be used to compare children's scores with relevant peer groups. Multicultural dimensional research can advance knowledge by diversifying normative data; by comparing immigrant children with nonimmigrant compatriots and with host country children; by identifying outlier findings for elucidation by emic research; and by fostering efforts to dimensionalize DSM-V diagnostic criteria.

Stability and change in the mental health of New Zealand secondary school students 2007–2012: Results from the national adolescent health surveys

“…The most comparable international data in this case is of representative samples of school students using the same measures. The SDQ has been used widely (Achenbach et al, 2008) but efforts to compare findings for multiple societies have revealed large, cross-cultural reporting effects (Goodman et al, 2012). School level surveys of depressive symptoms using the RADS scale and similar methods to ours have been reported in recent years in Spain (Fonseca-Pedrero et al, 2010), in the USA among Latinos (Céspedes and Huey Jr, 2008), and in Australia (Boyd et al, 2000).…”

When to Use Broader Internalising and Externalising Subscales Instead of the Hypothesised Five Subscales on the Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire (SDQ): Data from British Parents, Teachers and Children

“…In the decade since its development, it has been used in low-, middle-and high-income settings around the world (reviewed in Achenbach, et al, 2008;Woerner, Fleitlich-Bilyk, et al, 2004). The SDQ can be completed by parents and teachers of children aged 4 to 16 and by youth aged 11 to 16.…”

“…The SDQ total difficulties score, which is the sum of the emotional, peer, behavioral and hyperactivity subscales, has been found to be a psychometrically sound measure of overall child mental health problems in studies from around the world (Achenbach, et al, 2008;A. Goodman & Goodman, 2009; R. Goodman, 1997Goodman, , 1999R.…”

The Relationship between Self-rated Psychopathic Traits and Psychopathology in a Sample of Finnish Community Youth: Exploration of Gender Differences

“…Further, a Total Problems Score can be delivered as a sum of scores on all the problem items of the questionnaire. Because of its satisfactory psychometric properties as well as the extensive data behind its standardized scores and clinical cut-offs, the YSR has been widely used to assess adolescents' emotional and behavioral problems [36][37][38]. In this study, continuous scores were, however, used.…”

“…The scores were calculated by summing up the item scores on the respective scale and then dividing the sum score by the number of items on that scale. Traditionally, the YSR scale scores appear as sums [36][37][38]. First, we performed the logarithm transformation of the scores, since the original data was skewed to the right.…”