Screening for mental health problems in a Norwegian preschool population. A validation of the ages and stages questionnaire: Social‐emotional (ASQ:SE)

Abstract

Background Early detection of mental health problems in childhood is important. However, studies on screening instruments for preschool children are rare. The aim of this study was to validate the Ages and Stages Questionnaire: Social‐Emotional (ASQ:SE) with teacher reports and examine its screening accuracy in a preschool population. Methods A total of 1428 children, aged 18 months – 5 years, attending child‐care centers were recruited in Norway. Their teachers completed a survey including the ASQ:SE and the Caregiver‐Teacher Report Form (C‐TRF). The Spearman's correlation was calculated for the convergence between the ASQ:SE and the C‐TRF and the screening accuracy of the ASQ:SE was assessed using receiver operating characteristic (ROC) analysis with the criterion of a score at or above the 90th percentile for the C‐TRF total problem score. Results The Spearman's correlation between the total scores for the ASQ:SE and the C‐TRF were from .49 to .72. The ROC analyses demonstrated that the ASQ:SE had a promising ability to classify children at risk based on the C‐TRF criterion with AUC ranging from .87 to .96 for the different forms. The ASQ:SE generally demonstrated high specificity across all forms and some forms (from age 30 months upwards) produced both high sensitivity and high specificity using the selected cutoff values. Conclusions The ASQ:SE could serve as a good starting point for screening for social‐emotional problems among children in child‐care centers. The 30‐ to 60‐month ASQ:SE forms exhibit promising psychometric properties and may prove useful for early detection. The 18‐ to 24‐month ASQ:SE forms demonstrate more limited efficacy in detecting children at risk.

The Impact of Perinatal Life Stress on Infant Temperament and Child Development: A 2-Year Follow-Up Cohort Study

“…In contrast to the ASQ-3, higher scores on the ASQ:SE are indicative of potential difficulties regarding social-emotional development. The Norwegian version of the ASQ-SE has been validated, 25 and the internal consistency in the present study was α = 0.52. It should further be noted that the ASQ-3 and ASQ:SE represent screening tools, designed to identify children at risk for potential developmental concerns rather than continuous measures of developmental functioning.…”

The Ages and Stages Questionnaire: Social-Emotional—What Is the Optimal Cut-Off for 3-Year-Olds in the Swedish Setting?

“…A 2018 Norwegian study that validated a teacher completed ASQ:SE against the Caregiver-Teacher Report Form (C-TRF) among 5-year-old children, concluded that the ASQ:SE had good screening accuracy in detecting children at risk for social and emotional problems ( 34 ). However, the authors proposed a reduction in the ASQ:SE cut-off scores for 18- and 24-month versions in the Norwegian context arguing that this would increase the detection rate of children with social-emotional problems (true positives).…”

Experiences of Norwegian child and school health nurses with the “Starting Right™” child health assessment innovation: a qualitative interview study

“…Thus, there could be differences in how to interpret their professional obligations in relation to the implemented assessments, and reciprocal and continuous adjustments of the innovation may be important beyond the pilot phase, as we reported previously [ 21 ]. Waldron et al [ 26 ] also emphasised the need for continuing education when implementing routine outcome measures. Moreover, competence needs concerning the assessment rating scales and aetiology of symptoms, as well as appropriate interventions, were highlighted by Putkuri et al [ 7 ] for a comparable child and school health service innovation in Finland.…”

“…The Starting Right child and school health service innovation consists of parent- and child-reported online structured health assessments tools, including practical routines for use in assessments of child and school health services among children aged from six months to 16 years [ 21 ]. Previously validated questionnaires are used in the innovation, such as the SDQ [ 22 ], health-related quality of life (KIDSCREEN-27) [ 23 , 24 ], general development (ages and stages questionnaire) [ 25 ], socio-emotional development (ages and stages questionnaire: social–emotional) [ 26 ], and anxiety (Spence child anxiety scale, short) questionnaires [ 27 ]. Parental acceptability and adoption by CSHNs were satisfactory in the pilot phase [ 21 ].…”