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Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire

SDQ
psychologyeducationhealth sciencesLicensed: permission required

Permission: Licensed: permission required. Obtain permission from the copyright holder before using it in a study.

A 25-item behavioral screening questionnaire for children and adolescents (ages 4-17 for the parent and teacher versions) with five subscales: emotional symptoms, conduct problems, hyperactivity/inattention, peer problems, and prosocial behavior.

Items
25
Response format
3-point scale
Version
1.0
Subscales
5

Ready-to-cite methods sentence

Child difficulties were measured with the Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire (SDQ; Goodman, 1997), whose Total Difficulties score aggregates four subscales and showed good internal consistency in a British national sample (α = .82 parent report, .87 teacher report, .80 self-report; Goodman, 2001).

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Permission required

Importing SDQ into a Surveyor study is disabled: Folio holds the instrument’s metadata, not a license to pass on its wording. The citation, scoring and reliability details on this page are free to use and cite.

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Reliability & validation

Source
Goodman, 2001
Validation population
British 5-15 year-olds in a national epidemiological sample (Goodman, 2001); the 1997 study used 403 children from dental and psychiatric clinics
Cronbach's α
0.8–0.87

Subscales

Emotional symptomsConduct problemsHyperactivity/inattentionPeer relationship problemsProsocial behaviour

Known limitations

A brief screening measure; individual subscales (especially peer problems and conduct) can show low reliability, and parent, teacher, and self-report versions do not always agree. The SDQ is copyrighted by Youthinmind: paper copies are free for non-profit use, but electronic or online versions require prior authorization from Youthinmind.

Original citation

Goodman, R. (1997). The Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire: A research note. Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry, 38(5), 581-586.

https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1469-7610.1997.tb01545.x

This instrument is licensed. Folio does not distribute its item wording. Obtain permission from the copyright holder before using it in your study.

Questions researchers ask

What does the SDQ measure?

A 25-item behavioral screening questionnaire for children and adolescents (ages 4-17 for the parent and teacher versions) with five subscales: emotional symptoms, conduct problems, hyperactivity/inattention, peer problems, and prosocial behavior.

How many items does the SDQ have?

The Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire (SDQ) has 25 items across 5 subscales: Emotional symptoms, Conduct problems, Hyperactivity/inattention, Peer relationship problems, Prosocial behaviour.

Is the SDQ free to use?

The SDQ is licensed. You must obtain permission from the copyright holder before using it in a study. Folio does not distribute its item wording without that permission.

Is the SDQ reliable?

Validation studies report Cronbach's α of 0.8–0.87 (Goodman, 2001). See the reliability section for the population studied and full statistics.

Who developed the SDQ, and how do I cite it?

Goodman, R. (1997). The Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire: A research note. Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry, 38(5), 581-586. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1469-7610.1997.tb01545.x

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Library entry verified September 2026. Metadata is provided for reference; item wording is available inside Folio Surveyor, subject to each instrument's licensing.