The longitudinal network structure of the Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire: insights from a national Australian study

Abstract

Introduction: The understanding of children’s social and emotional development is critical to promote well-being throughout the life course. Children who fail to develop social and emotional competencies during middle childhood are more likely to experience social and emotional difficulties in late childhood and adolescence and, in the worst case, can develop psychopathology. Recently proposed as a theoretical and methodological development, longitudinal network models can investigate children’s social and emotional development as a system of mutually reinforcing behaviours (instead of traditionally considering development according to unobservable “traits”). The identification of behaviours that have the strongest causal effects on social and emotional development during middle childhood (rather than the identification of broader “traits”) can be useful to inform tailored behavioural interventions to promote the healthy development of children. The current study will employ Cross-Lagged Network Models (CLNMs) to investigate children’s social and emotional development among Australian children aged 6 to 10 years. Method: Data was used from the Longitudinal Study of Australian Children. Children’s social and emotional development was measured with the caregiver-informant Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire (SDQ) version 4 to 10 years. The complete case samples (n=4,070) included children aged 6 to 10 years who participated in the three study follow-ups (i.e. age 6, 8, and 10) with complete responses to all 25 SDQ items. Results: The findings indicated that certain behaviours, such as reducing fights at age 6 and improving peer relationships at age 8, were important intervention targets to promote healthy social and emotional development during middle childhood. Conclusion: The current study provided new insights into children’s social and emotional development during middle childhood and identified behaviours that are key targets for intervention.