The Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire: Factor Structure of the Father-Report and Parent Agreement in 2-Year-Old Children

The Association Between Persistence and Change in Behavioral Difficulties During Early to Middle Childhood and Cognitive Abilities at Age 8

We investigated the association between persistence and change in behavioral difficulties during early to middle childhood and several cognitive outcomes. We observed 3904 8-year-olds enrolled in the longitudinal study Growing Up in New Zealand (50% male/female; 23% Māori, 9% Pacific Peoples, 13% Asian, 2% Middle Eastern/Latin American/African, 9% Other, 43% European). The NIH Toolbox Cognition Battery was used to assess cognitive functioning at 8 years and the Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire for behavioral difficulties at 4.5 and 8 years. Multivariate logistic regression analyses were conducted, controlling for well-known sociodemographic confounders. Children with persistent or later onset of behavioral difficulties were at higher risk for poorer vocabulary, reading, inhibitory control/attention, episodic memory, working memory and processing speed at age 8 compared to children with no or improved difficulties. Our study supports the importance of addressing both cognitive and behavioral aspects when planning educational programmes and interventions in early and middle childhood.

Longitudinal Invariance of the Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire Across Ages 4 to 16 in the ALSPAC Sample

The Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire (SDQ) has been widely used to study children's psychosocial development longitudinally; however, such analyses assume longitudinal measurement invariance, that is, they presuppose that symptom manifestations are measured comparably across different ages. Violations of this assumption could bias longitudinal analyses and should therefore be empirically tested. This study tested longitudinal measurement invariance within a confirmatory factor analysis framework in the U.K.-based Avon Longitudinal Study of Parents and Children (N = 13,988). Results indicated that SDQ scores showed configural, metric, scalar, and residual invariance across ages 7, 8, 9, 11, 13, and 16, supporting its use for comparing variances, covariances, and means over time within a latent variable model as well as using observed scores. At age 4, configural invariance was not supported, indicating that mental health symptoms as measured by the SDQ manifest differently at this age, thus necessitating caution when comparing symptoms as measured by SDQ scores at this age to later ages.

Mellow Babies and Mellow Toddlers: Effects on maternal mental health of a group-based parenting intervention for at-risk families with young children

BACKGROUND

Parental risk factors can have a significant detrimental impact on child development, yet most parenting interventions do not address parental mental health. There is also a dearth of evidence regarding parenting interventions for families with children under two years old. Mellow Parenting (MP) is a suite of parenting interventions targeting at-risk families with complex needs, including those with very young children. Preliminary studies suggest that MP can improve both parent and child outcomes, but no evaluation has been conducted in routine practice.

METHODS

Using a real-world design we analysed routine data from a UK cohort of n = 183 mother-child dyads, collected over a 21-month period. Data were gathered immediately pre- and post-intervention. Outcomes included maternal mental health, parenting confidence, daily parenting stress, and child behaviour. Intention-to-treat and 'completer' analyses were performed. Associations between attendance, participant demographics, and pre-post change in outcomes were modelled.

RESULTS

MP participation was associated with improvements in maternal mental health (d = 0.36), parenting confidence (d = 0.42), and a component of child psychosocial behaviour (conduct problems; d = 0.36), but not overall child difficulties, or daily parenting stress. Mothers with a partner experienced larger benefits in mental health and parenting confidence compared to single mothers. Younger mothers, and those with a history of mental health problems, attended more intervention sessions.

LIMITATIONS

The study used real-world data and was thus uncontrolled, limiting causal interpretations.

CONCLUSIONS

This is the first study to explore MP participation on a multi-site national level and suggests that group-based parenting interventions may be effective for at-risk families. These results should be expanded upon via controlled studies that incorporate follow-up data.

Antenatal and Postnatal Determinants of Behavioural Difficulties in Early Childhood: Evidence from Growing Up in New Zealand

Behavioural difficulties during early childhood have significant implications for multiple outcomes later in life. Child behavioural difficulties at 2 years of age (N = 6246) were assessed by mothers enrolled in a longitudinal, population-based New Zealand cohort study. 10.1% of children had total difficulties scores in the abnormal range on the preschool version of the Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire. After controlling for maternal education, poverty, and child's birth age/weight, several antenatal and postnatal maternal health and family risk factors were significant for: (i) emotional problems (antenatal maternal perceived stress, lack of periconceptional folate, and moderate to severe maternal postnatal anxiety); (ii) hyperactivity-inattention (antenatal maternal perceived stress, mothers' antenatal exposure to secondhand smoke, moderate to severe maternal postnatal anxiety, and low maternal self-evaluation); (iii) conduct problems and total difficulties (antenatal maternal perceived stress, verbal inter-parental conflict and low maternal self-evaluation). The identification of risk and protective factors associated with early childhood difficulties are vital for guiding intervention and prevention efforts.