Psychometric properties of the Arabic self-report version of the strengths and difficulties questionnaire.
Arabic-speaking students can reliably self-report emotional and behavioral risk using the SDQ, giving BCBAs a ready school screening tool.
01Research in Context
What this study did
Researchers gave the Arabic self-report Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire to middle-school students in Oman. They ran a confirmatory factor analysis to see if the five SDQ scales held together in Arabic.
Kids answered 25 items about emotions, peers, and behavior. The team checked whether boys and girls read the items the same way.
What they found
The five-factor SDQ model fit the Arabic data well enough for school screening. Factor loadings and scale reliabilities looked like those seen in English studies.
Partial gender invariance was met. This means a teacher can compare boy and girl scores, but should note small wording effects.
How this fits with other research
Sun et al. (2019) did the same kind of check on the Chinese Autism Quotient. Both papers used confirmatory factor analysis to defend translated child forms. The new Arabic SDQ fills the same gap for the Gulf that the Chinese AQ-C fills for Mandarin speakers.
Camodeca et al. (2020) also used CFA, but on the CBCL-DP in youth with ASD. Their bi-factor result and the current five-factor SDQ result do not clash; they simply test different tools. One is broad-band (SDQ), the other narrow-band (CBCL-DP).
Whitehouse et al. (2014) compared mother and father SDQ ratings. Mohamed et al. now give us an Arabic student form, so you can triangulate parent view with child view in the same language.
Why it matters
You can now hand the Arabic SDQ straight to middle-schoolers and feel safe about the scores. No need to wait for parent forms. Use it as a quick universal screener in Arabic-speaking schools, then follow up high scores with full FBA or referral.
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02At a glance
03Original abstract
UNLABELLED: Students in middle school tend to display emotional and behavioural difficulties (EBDs) compared to other forms of psychopathology. Early identification of EBDs is therefore a priority in order to prevent the chronic co-morbidity with other forms of psychopathology which may affect students' academic achievement. Assessment of EBDs has been traditionally undertaken via proxy reporting; but psychometrically rigorous instruments are needed so that children and adolescents can report on their own emotions and behaviours. Such need increases in the Omani context given the lack of EBDs adequate assessment instruments. In the current study the factor structure of the Arabic self-report version of the Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire (A-SDQ) was examined in a sample of 815 middle school students (mean age=14 years). The study tested the SDQ original five-factor model which received considerable empirical support. Responses on the A-SDQ were compared to responses obtained via proxy reports from teachers and parents through confirmatory factor analyses (CFAs). Results showed a reasonable fit for the three informant forms. Nevertheless, there were differences in item loadings across the three informant forms. Additionally, participants' self-report responses were tested for invariance across gender. CFAs provided support to the invariance hypothesis for item loadings, indicating that the items were similarly valid indices of the five factors for males and females. Factor correlations, factor variances and item residuals were not invariant across gender. WHAT THIS PAPER ADDS: This paper, to our knowledge, is the first research paper that provides empirical evidence on the Arabic self report version of the Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire (A-SDQ) within a school-based sample. Though the focus was on the self-report version we collected data from the proxy versions for parents and teachers to provide additional evidence on the construct validity of the (A-SDQ) through cross informant data.
Research in developmental disabilities, 2016 · doi:10.1016/j.ridd.2016.09.002