Comparison of urdu version of strengths and difficulties questionnaire [SDQ] and the child behaviour check list [CBCL] amongst primary school children in Karachi

To compare CBCL [Child Behaviour Check Llist] Urdu, with the validated Urdu version of Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire [SDQ] used as "gold standard" among school children in Karachi, Pakistan, and to develop local cutoffs for CBCL using SDQ as a gold standard. A cross-sectional study. Schools of Karachi metropolitan area from January to December 2006. The Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire [SDQ] and Child Behaviour Check List [CBCL] was completed by parents of 5-11 years old primary school children in Karachi. Appropriate cutoff points for total problem, internalizing and externalizing scales were obtained for CBCL. A total of 556 parents filled out both the SDQ Urdu version as well as CBCL. Scores from the parent rated total SDQ scores were highly correlated with the total CBCL scores [r=0.589]. The local cutoffs derived for CBCL were considerably lower than USA norms. Slightly higher cutoff for males was found as compared to females for the total CBCL scores. Like the original English version, the Urdu version of CBCL and SDQ are both equally valid assessment tools to be used for both clinical and research purpose in Pakistani settings, where Urdu is widely spoken and understood

Comparing the Urdu version of strength and difficulties questionnaire [SDQ] and the child behavior checkist [CBCL] in a sample of 5-11 year old school children in Karachi, Pakistan

This study aims to compare two widely used instruments in child mental health research, the Strength and Difficulties Questionnaire [SDQ] is a brief behavioral screening questionnaire that can be completed in about 5 minutes by the parents and teachers of 4-16 year olds. Cross sectional and correlation study. This study was conducted in schools of Karachi between January to June 2006. The Urdu version of SDQ has been translated and was downloaded from the website [www.sdqinfro.com], the SDQ has been validated in Pakistan. The CBCL was translated by a team of expert through a rigorous seven step process of translation. Both the SDQ and CBCL were completed by 556 parents of school children aged 5-11 attending schools in various towns of Karachi. Given the non normal nature of some of the distributions, correlations were calculated using Spearman's rho co efficient. Scores from the SDQ and CBCL were moderately corelated and equally able to screen out children with emotional and behavioral problems. SDQ had a certain advantage over CBCL as it is much shorter and can be completed in much lesser time than the longer CBCL. The study shows that like the original English version and other similar studies, the SDQUrdu and the Urdu CBCL are equally valuable tools for the most clinical and research purpose

Mental distress in mothers of child psychiatric patients

To determine whether caring for a child with mental health issues could lead to mental distress among mothers. Cross-sectional study. Outpatient Clinics of The Aga Khan University Hospital and PNS Shifa Hospital, Karachi, from January to June 2005. A total of 238 consecutive mothers bringing their children to child psychiatric and pediatric clinics were recruited over a 6-month period. As per inclusion criteria, 106 mothers of child psychiatric patients were compared to 132 mothers taken from pediatric clinics. They were asked to fill out a psychiatric screening instrument [WHO SRQ-20]. Mothers' mental distress [score - 10 on SRQ-20] and other potential risk or protective factors were measured. Mental distress among mothers determined by WHO SRQ-20 was associated with their child attending a psychiatric clinic [odds ratio 2.51, 95% confidence interval 1.38 - 4.51]. This association remained significant for age of mother being less than 30 years. No significant association was found with the number of children and duration of marriage. Mental distress among mothers is associated with the child having psychiatric problems. These mothers may represent a group who are at higher risk of depression. Early recognition and treatment of mental health problems in mothers may help reduce psychiatric morbidity in children