The SDQ in Italian clinical practice: evaluation between three outpatient groups compared.

AIM The aim of the study is to evaluate the effectiveness of the Strength and Difficulties Questionnaire (SDQ) as a screening tool for emotional and behavioral problems in three different populations at risk. METHODS The SDQ is a brief screening questionnaire that investigates the presence of emotional and behavioural problems in children and adolescents. We have analyzed 497 questionnaires completed by parents of children referred to Child Neuropsychiatry, Pediatric Endocrinology and Pediatric Oncology Units. RESULTS Results indicate a higher presence of psychopathological disorders in Neuropsychiatry patients than Oncology and Endocrinology patients. Furthermore the Oncology patients have more emotional and behavioral problems than Endocrinology patients. DISCUSSION The findings support the use of the SDQ questionnaire in the assessment of emotional and behavioral problems in these populations at risk. So the SDQ could be used by clinicians to detect early psychopathological disorder in children with different kind of chronic organic diseases.