Emotional and behavioural difficulties in children referred for learning disabilities from two Arab countries: A cross-cultural examination of the Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire.

The team asked teachers in Saudi Arabia and Oman to fill out the Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire. They wanted to know if the usual five-factor scoring works for Arab kids.

They ran factor analysis on the teacher ratings to see which scoring fit best.

A simpler three-factor model won. The factors were internalizing, externalizing, and prosocial. This clean structure fit both countries better than the original five-factor version.

Efstratopoulou et al. (2023) later did the same kind of check in UAE schools with a different tool, the Motor Behaviour Checklist. Both studies show Arabic teacher checklists need local validation.

Oliver et al. (2002) did early psychometric work on the Dutch DBC. Their groundwork helped later checklist studies, including this one, know what to test for.

Jackson et al. (2025) shortened the German DBC-T from 94 to 35 items. Like Mogeda, they used factor analysis to give teachers a faster, still-solid form.

If you screen Arab schoolchildren, score the SDQ with three factors, not five. You will get clearer internalizing, externalizing, and prosocial scores. This small switch saves time and avoids mislabeling kids who just look different under Western norms.