New evidence of factor structure and measurement invariance of the SDQ across five European nations

The main purpose of the present study was to test the internal structure and to study the measurement invariance of the Strength and Difficulties Questionnaire (SDQ), self-reported version, in five European countries. The sample consisted of 3012 adolescents aged between 12 and 17 years (M = 14.20; SD = 0.83). The five-factor model (with correlated errors added), and the five-factor model (with correlated errors added) with the reverse-worded items allowed to cross-load on the Prosocial subscale, displayed adequate goodness of-fit indices. Multi-group confirmatory factor analysis showed that the five-factor model had partial strong measurement invariance by countries. A total of 11 of the 25 items were non-invariant across samples. The level of internal consistency of the Total difficulties scores was .84, ranging between .69 and .78 for the SDQ subscales. The findings indicate that the SDQ's scales need to be modified in various ways for screening emotional and behavioural problems in the five European countries that were analyzed

Mental health difficulties in children and adolescents: The study of the SDQ in the Spanish National Health Survey 2011–2012

The Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire (SDQ) is a well-known measuring instrument widely used for the assessment of mental health in children and adolescents. Relatively few studies have analysed the factor structure, the measurement invariance, and the internal consistency, including the information function of the SDQ in its parent version. The study included a large sample (N = 3828) from the Spanish National Survey (2016 were male; 52.7%). Mean age was 9.13 (SD = 3.21) with ages ranging from 4 to 14. The level of internal consistency of the scores for the Total difficulties score was 0.84, ranging between 0.75 and 0.78 for the SDQ subscales. Results from the confirmatory factor analysis showed a five-factor model as the most appropriate. Nonetheless, the fit indices were inadequate and different modifications were needed. The hypothesis of measurement invariance of the SDQ scores across gender and educational level was supported. The present study allows us to affirm that the SDQ, parent's version form, appears to be an adequate tool for the screening of emotional and behavioural problems for children and adolescents. Future research should analyse the SDQ at cross-cultural level, incorporating novel psychometric frameworks and new mental health classifications. © 2017 Elsevier B.V

Early adolescence and stress in the school context: An examination of the Student Stress Inventory-Stress Manifestations (SSI-SM)

Introduction: Stress suffered by adolescents is often neglected. In fact, there are very few measuring instruments that have been translated into Spanish for the assessment of stress manifestations in teenagers. Method: The main purpose of this work was to analyze the psychometric properties of the Student Stress Inventory-Stress Manifestations (SSI-SM) in Spanish adolescents. The final sample comprised a total of 708 students, 308 were male, with a mean age of 13.61 years (SD = 1.08). Results: The results indicated that the SSI-SM scores presented adequate psychometric properties. Cronbach's alpha coefficient for the subscales ranged between 0.69 and 0.90. Analysis of the internal structure of the SSI-SM scores, through confirmatory factorial analysis, showed that the three dimensional structure solution was the most satisfactory model. A total of 6 items of the SSI-SM showed differential item functioning by gender. SSI-SM subscales were correlated with emotional and behavioural symptoms and schizotypal traits. Statistically significant differences were found between mean scores of SSI-SM by gender and age. Conclusions: These results provided new sources of validity evidence for the SSI-SM scores in an independent sample of non-clinical adolescents. The SSI-SM seems to be a useful, brief and easy to apply self-report instrument for the screening of stress manifestations in this sector of the population. © 2015 Education & Psychology I+D+i and Ilustre Colegio Oficial de la Psicología de Andalucía Oriental (Spain)

Subjective well-being in adolescence: New psychometric evidences on the satisfaction with life scale

The main purpose of the present study was to test the psychometric properties of the Satisfaction with Life Scale (SWLS) in a large sample of Spanish adolescents. The sample consisted of 1020 non-clinical adolescents with a mean age of 15.96 years (SD = 1.68). The level of internal consistency of the SWLS Total score by means of McDonalds Omega was .85. The one-dimensional model displayed appropriate goodness of-fit indices. Strong measurement invariance for the one factor model across age and gender was found. Younger adolescents reported higher levels of life satisfaction. In addition, SWLS total score was negatively associated with behavioural and emotional. The study confirmed that the SWLS is a useful tool for the screening of self-reported life satisfaction in adolescents. © 2017 Informa UK Limited, trading as Taylor & Francis Grou

Suicidal ideation in a community-derived sample of Spanish adolescents

Introduction: Suicide is a current public health problem and among the main causes of mortality in adolescents and young adults. The main goal of this study was to analyse suicidal ideation in a representative sample of Spanish adolescents. Specifically, the prevalence rates of suicide ideation, the psychometric properties of the Paykel Suicide Scale (PSS) scores, and the socio-emotional adjustment of adolescents at risk for suicide were analysed. Material and methods: The sample consisted of 1,664 participants (M = 16.12 years, SD = 1.36, range 14-19 years), selected by stratified sampling by clusters. The instruments used were the PSS, the Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire, the Personal Wellbeing Index-School Children, and the Oviedo Infrequency Scale. Results: The results showed that 4.1% of the sample indicated that they had tried to commit suicide in the previous year. Statistically significant differences were found according to gender but not according to age in the PSS mean scores. The analysis of the internal structure of the PSS showed that the one-dimensional model presented excellent goodness of fit indexes. This model showed measurement invariance across gender. The reliability of the scores, estimated with ordinal alpha, was 0.93. Participants who reported suicide ideation showed poorer mental health status and lower life satisfaction compared to the non-suicide ideation group. Conclusions: Suicidal ideation is present during adolescence and is associated with poor subjective well-being and increased emotional and behavioural problems. PSS seems to show adequate psychometric behaviour to assess suicidal ideation in adolescents. These findings have clear implications, both in health and education systems, to improve the promotion of emotional well-being and prevention of psychological and psychiatric problems in this sector of the population. © 2017 SEP y SEPB