The Impact of Language Translation on the Internal Structure of a Rating Scale: The Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire in Spanish

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to compare the psychometric properties of the Spanish version of the Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire (SDQ), a 25-item behavioral screener, with the English version. Participants included in this study were 363 English-speaking parents and 334 Spanish-speaking parents of preschool age children (ages 3-5) who took part in the Children's Hospital of Orange County/University of California (Irvine) Initiative for the Development of Attention and Readiness (CUIDAR) program from 2004-2008. This study used data from the CUIDAR program to explore mean rating differences between the English and Spanish versions of the SDQ, along with coefficient alpha as an indicator of reliability at the scale and composite level, and factor analytic evidence of score validity. Mean ratings of the scales and the Total Difficulties scale were very similar across language forms. Reliability coefficients indicated alphas were higher for scores derived from the English forms compared to the Spanish forms at the scale and composite levels, although neither form produced scores with adequate reliability at the scale level. Finally, the Five First Order Factor Model was the best-fitting and most valid representation of all 25 items of the SDQ, regardless of the language of the form.