The Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire (SDQ) is a brief behavioural screening questionnaire about 3-16 year olds. It exists in several versions to meet the needs of researchers, clinicians and other practitioners.
It is an internationally recognised format for use in assessing and evaluating impact of interventions with children, young people and families.
In the downloads section you can find 3 questionnaires for use with young people aged 11-16:
- A one page questionnaire about psychological attributes which looks at emotional symptoms, conduct problems, hyperactivity/inattention, peer relationship problems and prosocial behaviour. This would be filled out by the young person and could be used to inform a CAF or other assessment.
- Same content as number 1 with additional impact supplement to understand the extent of the problem and the impact it has on others. This could also be used to inform an assessment.
- Same content as 2 plus follow up questions to assess whether the intervention has reduced problems. This version should be used at an agreed review point to assess the impact of the interventions of a single service or a support plan offered by the team around the family.
Why is this important?
There are a number of benefits to using SDQs as part of service delivery:
- Another mechanism to enable the young person to give information about their current situation. This will lead to better assessment and understanding of the issues and therefore a better support plan to meet needs.
- A method to understand the impact of the intervention(s) from the young person’s perspective. This is crucial to understanding whether the services/support offered have worked.
What about younger children?
There are several other versions of SDQ available for use with teachers and families for younger children. These and further information about SDQ are available at:
www.sdqinfo.com
