Behavioral difficulties and associated factors among the 'lost generation' of Syrian children and adolescents.

Childhood and adolescence, vital in shaping adult life and society, are profoundly impacted during conflicts like Syria's devastating war. This study explores the prevalence of behavioral disorders in Syrian children and adolescents, examining the influence of war and family-related factors. This cross-sectional study was conducted on children aged 2-17 years at a children's outpatient clinic in Damascus, Syria. We assessed parents' quality of life, war and family-related factors, and behavioral difficulties through parental interviews using two questionnaires: the Arabic version of the Strengths & Difficulties Questionnaire (SDQ) and the brief Arabic version of the World Health Organization Quality of Life Questionnaire (WHOQOL-BREF). 74.67% of children aged 2-4 years and 61.29% of children aged 5-17 years were experiencing behavioral difficulties, with emotional difficulties being the most prevalent ones. Children exposed to kidnapping, family losses, lack of school enrollment, and those with parents having lower education, lower socioeconomic status, and poorer quality of life exhibited higher Total SDQ scores. The high prevalence of behavioral difficulties among children and adolescents in Syria is a major concern, with both direct and indirect war-related factors contributing to this issue.

Jordanian parental perception of screen time and its association with psychological distress: A cross-sectional design.

BACKGROUND: The excessive use of electronic devices among children is a global concern because of its negative impact on behavior. This cross-sectional study aimed to assess parents' awareness of their children's electronic device use and their perspective on how screen time affects behavior for 4-10-year-olds in Jordan. METHODS: A cross-sectional study was conducted to assess parents' awareness of their children's electronic device usage. The study included 807 mothers and fathers from Jordan with at least one child aged 4 to 10. The data collection instrument consisted of a self-administered survey with 43 questions, including sociodemographic characteristics and the Strength and Difficulties Questionnaire. Descriptive analysis, categorical Chi-square test, Independent t-test, and Mann-Whitney U test were used for statistical analysis. The study followed ethical standards and principles. RESULTS: A survey of 807 parents in Jordan found that gaming and videos were the most common content watched by children, and 61.3% used devices alone. Only 37.1% of parents believed that device use could improve their children's psychological growth, while 72.7% and 65.9% believed it could impact negatively their children's mental and psychological growth, respectively. The Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire showed that 51.4% of children were normal, while 25.3% were borderline and 23.3% were abnormal. CONCLUSION: Children in the study used electronic devices excessively and this was linked to severe behavioral problems. Parents should follow AAP guidelines and spend more time with their children through non-electronic activities to improve their behavior.

Adaptation of the Strength and Difficulties Questionnaire for Use in the Republic of Georgia.

Background: Children in low-resource countries like Georgia often have limited access to assessment measures for mental health care services. This study adapts and validates the mental health screening tool the Strength and Difficulties Questionnaire for use in Georgian children. Methods: A total of 16 654 children were assessed by a parent and/or teacher using Georgian-adapted Strength and Difficulties Questionnaire. Receiver operating characteristic analyses were performed to assess the discriminative validity of the Strength and Difficulties Questionnaires and to establish an optimal cutoff score. Results: Data from 15 738 parents- and 13 560 teachers-administered Strength and Difficulties Questionnaire were analyzed. The internal consistency analysis showed Cronbach's alpha to be 0.625 and 0.621 for parent- and teacher-administered Strength and Difficulties Questionnaire, respectively. The area under the curve (95% CI) shows that the Strength and Difficulties Questionnaire can differentiate risk group children from typically developing peers: parent-administered questionnaires-0.629 (0.556-0.702) and teacher-administered questionnaires-0.680 (0.611-0.789). Parent-administered Strength and Difficulties Questionnaire has a cutoff value of 16 or more with 92.5% of sensitivity and teacher-administered Strength and Difficulties Questionnaire-14 or more with a sensitivity of 85.6%. Conclusion: The study finds that the Strength and Difficulties Questionnaire is a valid screening instrument and does not depend on the informant-parent or teacher. It suggests that with appropriate cultural adaptation, the SDQ can be used in the Republic of Georgia to identify children at risk for mental disorders and help guide resource allocation.

An application of ordinal regression to extract social dysfunction levels through behavioral problems.

Psychological problems are complex in nature and accurate identification of these problems is important. For the identification of psychological problems, one of the preliminary tools is the use of interviews/questionnaires. Questionnaires are preferred over interviews if the group under study is large. A strengths and difficulties questionnaire (SDQ) is one of the most widely used and powerful questionnaires to identify behavioral problems and distresses being faced by the respondents, affecting their day-to-day lives (responsible for social dysfunction). This study was held on college/university students in India, with the objective of examining if the extent of social dysfunction as measured by an impact score can be extracted from behavioral problems which are the components of the difficulty score of SDQ. Two surveys were conducted during the COVID-19 pandemic period, between the months of May-June 2020 and October 2020-February 2021 for the study. Only those responses were considered who felt distressed ("yes" to item 26 of SDQ). The numbers of such responses were 772/1020 and 584/743, respectively, in the two surveys. Distress levels were treated as ordered variables and three categories of distress level, viz., "Normal", "Borderline", and "Abnormal" were estimated through behavioral problems using ordinal regression (OR) methods with a negative log-log link function. The fitting of OR models was tested and accepted using Cox and Snell, Nagelkerke, and McFadden test. Hyperactivity-inattention and emotional symptoms were significant contributors to estimating levels of distress among respondents in survey 1 (p < 0.05). In addition to these components, in survey 2, peer problems were also significant. OR models were good at estimating the extreme categories; however, the "Borderline" category was not estimated well. One of the reasons was the use of qualitative and complex data with the least wide "Borderline" category, both for the "Difficulty" and the "Impact" scores.

Prevalence and Time Trends of Self-Reported Mental Health Problems Among Children and Adolescents Between 11 and 17 Years in the KiGGS Study.

Objective: Knowledge about the prevalence of mental disorders in childhood and adolescence is important for clinicians and policymakers. This study examines the prevalence and trends in self-reported mental health problems among 11- to 17-year-olds in Germany. Method: We evaluated data from the self-report version of the Strength and Difficulties Questionnaire (SDQ) of 6,725 children and adolescents from the baseline of the German Health Interview and Examination Survey (KiGGS, 2003-2006) and 6,145 from its second wave (KiGGS wave 2, 2014-2017). Results: According to the SDQ total difficulties score, the prevalence estimates did not vary significantly between the study waves, neither regarding the category "abnormal" (9.3 % vs. 9.4 %) nor the pooled categories "borderline/abnormal" (16.9 % vs. 15.4 %). We confirmed the results by linear regression analyses using mean values instead of the SDQ categories. Analyses of the SDQ subscales revealed gender and age-specific time trends. Conclusions: These findings differ from those based on the SDQ parent report, which suggests significant declines in symptom load between the study waves. The results indicate the importance of integrating youth self-reports when measuring mental health problems, at least as part of a multi-informant approach.

Analysis of related factors of emotional and behavioral abnormalities in children with overactivity of bladder / 现代泌尿外科杂志

【Objective】 To analyze the related factors of emotional and behavioral abnormalities in children with overactive bladder (OAB). 【Methods】 OAB children (aged 6 to 16 years) in a survey of 5 032 children from a county in Henan Province during Sep.2022 and Dec.2022 were identified and surveyed with Overactive Bladder Symptom Score (OABSS), Strength and Difficulties Questionnaire (SDQ) and Pediatric Sleep Questionnaire (PSQ). According to the SDQ score, they were divided into abnormal group (SDQ≥20) and normal group. 【Results】 There were 35.7%(137/385) cases in the abnormal group and 64.3% (248/385) in the normal group. Gender, education level of caregivers, body mass index (BMI), age, constipation, enuresis and severity of OAB were significantly associated with emotional and behavioral abnormalities (P<0.05). Children in the abnormal group showed significant differences in emotional symptoms, conduct problems, hyperactivity symptoms, peer interaction and sleep (P<0.001). Multivariate regression analysis revealed significant differences in gender, educational level of caregi-vers, BMI, age, constipation, enuresis, severity of OAB and PSQI between the two groups (P<0.05). 【Conclusion】 The prevalence of emotional and behavioral abnormalities is high in children with OAB, which is related to female gender, high BMI, puberty, constipation, enuresis and severity of OAB.

Sleep disturbance has the largest impact on children's behavior and emotions.

Objective: Children's behavior and emotions are affected by sleep disturbances, the parent-child relationship, media viewing time, and the social status of parents and caregivers. We conducted a questionnaire survey to identify the factors that have the greatest impact on children's behavior and emotions and how these factors relate to each other. Methods: A parental questionnaire survey was performed at a public elementary school. The questionnaire comprised questions on the family environment (e.g., family structure, media and game exposure, after-school lessons, and caregiver's work schedule) and physical information, the Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire (SDQ), the Children's Sleep Habits Questionnaire (CSHQ), and the Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index (PSQI) for parents' sleep condition. A path diagram was drawn to hypothesize the complex interrelationships among factors, and structural equation modeling was used to estimate the path coefficients. Result: We identified several factors that significantly affected the SDQ score. The CSHQ total score had the largest impact, followed by after-school lessons, single-mother families, and children's sex. In addition, several indirect pathways that led to the CSHQ score (i.e., a pathway from time spent watching television to CSHQ score via children's bedtime and a pathway from single-mother family to CSHQ score via PSQI total score) significantly affected the SDQ score. Conclusion: Children's sleep habits that were influenced by several environmental factors had the greatest impact on children's behavior and emotions, which suggested that children's behavioral problems can be improved by interventions focused on sleep habits, such as sleep hygiene instructions.

Relationship between Neonatal MRI Findings and Emotional/Behavioral Evaluation in Early Childhood for Extremely Low-Birth-Weight Infants.

The aim of this study is to investigate whether it is possible to detect future behavioral and emotional problems in extremely low-birth-weight infants by evaluating the neonatal head magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) using a scoring system. This study included 62 extremely low-birth-weight infants born between April 2015 and March 2017 and those who had undergone MRI at 36 to 42 weeks of gestation. These subjects were administered with the Strength and Difficulties Questionnaire (SDQ) at age 4-5, and the patients who responded to the questionnaire were included in the study. A positive correlation was observed between the Global Brain Abnormality Score and Total Difficulties Score of the SDQ (r = 0.26, p = 0.038). However, no significant difference was observed between the median Global Brain Abnormality Score of the normal and borderline-range group and the Total Difficulties Score of the clinical-range group (p = 0.51). This study demonstrated the relationship between the MRI findings in the newborn period and the emotional and behavioral problems in early childhood, but it is not clinically useful as a predictive marker.

The association of road traffic noise with problem behaviour in adolescents: A cohort study.

The findings of environmental noise exposure and behavioural disorders in children and adolescents are inconclusive, and longitudinal studies are scarce. We studied the response of behaviour and behavioural change within one year in a cohort of 886 adolescents in Switzerland aged 10-17 years in response to road traffic noise exposure. Participants filled in a comprehensive questionnaire at baseline and follow-up. It included the Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire (SDQ), which measures self-rated positive and negative behaviours in five scales. We modelled road traffic noise for participants' most exposed facade at home and school addresses in various metrics (Lden, Lnight, Lday, Intermittency Ratio and Number of events). We addressed missing data with multiple imputation and performed mixed linear cross-sectional analyses and longitudinal change score analyses. In cross-sectional analyses, peer relationship problems increased by 0.15 units (95%CI: 0.02, 0.27; scale range: 0-10) per 10 dB road traffic noise increase. In longitudinal analyses, increases in SDQ scales between baseline and follow-up were not related to noise exposure. This study suggests subtle associations between road traffic noise exposure and behaviour problems in adolescents, but longer follow-up times may be needed to observe longitudinal changes.

Exploratory Graph Analysis of the Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire in the Longitudinal Study of Australian Children.

In Australia, the Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire (SDQ) has been implemented in several national studies, including the Longitudinal Study of Australian Children (LSAC). However, three previous state-level validations indicated problems with instrument dimensionality, warranting further research. To address this gap, the current study employed exploratory graph analysis to investigate dimensionality of the caregiver-completed SDQ version 4 to 10 years in a nationally representative sample of Australian children. Data were from a dual cohort cross-sequential study (LSAC) that included more than 20,000 responses. Gaussian graphical models were estimated in each study wave and exploratory graph analysis applied. Structural consistency, item stability and network loadings were evaluated. The findings provided mixed support for the original SDQ five-factor structure. The Peer Problem scale displayed low structural consistency since items clustered with the Emotional Symptoms and Prosocial behavior, generating four-dimensional structures. Implications for future use of the SDQ version 4 to 10 years in Australia are provided.

Social-Emotional Difficulties in Irish Children Aged Five and Nine Years: A National, Longitudinal Study.

A small proportion of children experience social-emotional difficulties from early childhood onwards. Longitudinal studies with nationally representative samples are needed to identify the prevalence and the characteristics of children and families persistently experiencing these difficulties. Secondary analysis of data collected on over 7500 Irish children and with the Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire as the primary indicator, found that 6% of children when they were five year olds and 8% when they were nine-years, had above threshold scores that warranted further investigation. A smaller proportion-2.9% had elevated scores at both ages. Logistic regression analyses found that children with one or more developmental disabilities were up to six times more likely to have sustained difficulties. There were also significant associations with the lower education attainment of primary caregivers and the socio-economic deprivation of families. Primary caregivers and teachers reported higher conflict in their relationships with these children. Although the number of Irish children presenting with continuing social-emotional difficulties is small, they can present an ongoing and future societal cost in terms of the impact on family relations and demands placed on educational, health and social services. This study identified the children and families who are at greatest risk and for whom targeted early intervention services could be provided.

Trajectories of peer relationship problems and emotional symptoms in children 5 years after a nuclear disaster: Fukushima Health Management Survey.

The Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Station (NPS) accident, which occurred in March 2011, is having long-term effects on children. About 3 years after the accident, we identified three patterns of peer relationship problems and four patterns of emotional symptoms using group-based trajectory modeling. As a result, we reported that different factors might be related to very severe trajectories of peer relationship problems and emotional symptoms. In this study, we used five waves of data from fiscal year (FY) 2011 to FY2015 from the Mental Health and Lifestyle Survey, a detailed survey of the Fukushima Health Management Survey started in FY2011. We analyzed 7013 residents within the government-designated evacuation zone (aged 6-12 years old as of 11 March 2011) with responses to all items of psychological distress in at least one wave from FY2011 and FY2015. We planned this study to describe the trajectories of peer relationship problems and emotional symptoms in children and to examine potential risks and protective factors over the 5 years following the NPS accident. We identified four patterns of peer relationship problems and five patterns of emotional symptoms using latent class growth analysis. For peer relationship problems, male sex, experiencing the NPS explosion and lack of exercise habits were associated with the severe trajectory group. For emotional symptoms, experiencing the NPS explosion, experiencing the tsunami disaster and lack of exercise habits were associated with the severe trajectory group. Exercise habits are very important for the mental health of evacuees after a nuclear disaster.

Parent-Adolescent Agreement on Adolescents' Emotional and Behavioral Problems Assessed by the Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire.

Objective. The perception of emotion and behavior is different between adolescents and their parents. Parent-adolescent agreement on emotional and behavioral problems has not been well researched. The aim of this study was to explore and compare how well the information from themselves matches with the judgments by their parents in terms of emotional and behavioral problems. Methods. The cross-sectional study was conducted using the self-report and parent-report Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire (SDQ). A total of 1254 Japanese school adolescents aged 12 to 18 and their parents were assessed almost the same time. The results were analyzed using the paired t-test and 2-way analysis of variance for the discrepancies of parent-adolescent agreements in each age and gender groups. Results. Adolescents obtained higher total difficulty and all subscales scores of SDQ than their parents. The effect of grade on the self/parent discrepancy scores were significantly observed on the conduct problems (P < .001), hyperactivity (P = .009), and prosocial behavior (P < .001). The effect of gender was shown significantly on the emotional problems (P < .001), conduct problems (P < .001), and peer problems (P = .002). Conclusion. Adolescents reported more problems than their parents did. For comprehensive evaluation of adolescents' mental health, it is necessary to draw information from both the adolescents themselves and their parents, and pay attention to the gap between adolescents and their parents' perception.

Age Appropriateness of the Self-Report Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire.

The self-report version of the Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire is widely used in clinical and research settings. However, the measure's suitability for younger adolescents has recently been called into question by readability analysis. To provide further insight into the age-appropriateness of the self-report Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire, readability was assessed at the item level alongside consideration of item quality criteria, its factor structure was analyzed, and measurement invariance between adolescents in Year 7 (age 11-12 years) versus Year 9 (age 13-15 years) was tested. The measure showed a wide range of reading ages, and the theorized factor structure was unacceptable. Measurement invariance was therefore considered for a flexible exploratory structural equation model, and no evidence of differences between age groups was found. Suggestions are made for the measure's revision based on these findings.

Subtyping of Strengths and Difficulties in a Spanish Children Sample: A Latent Class Analysis.

BACKGROUND: Externalizing and internalizing problems are frequent during childhood and are often comorbid. The current study aimed to explore subtypes of strengths and difficulties among Spanish children. METHODS: The Spanish version of the Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire was administered to 325 children (47.1% girls), aged 7-12 years (M = 9.64; SD = 1.34). Latent Class Analysis (LCA) was carried out to identify risk profiles in children according to their symptoms. ANOVA and multinomial logistic regression were performed to explore associations between latent classes and SDQ subscales, gender, age and number of siblings. RESULTS: Five latent classes were found: "high difficulties" (34.2%), "internalizing" (5.2%), "externalizing" (26.5%), "hyperactive" (14.5%), and "well-adjusted" (19.7%). Children belonging to "High difficulties" group showed the highest scores for emotional symptoms, conduct problems, and hyperactivity/inattention. The most prevalent pure profiles were the "externalizing" and "hyperactivity" group, which represent children with elevated behavioral problems, restlessness and distraction. Children in the "internalizing" class showed the highest risk of peer problems. CONCLUSIONS: These results support the diversity in the patterns of psychological strengths and difficulties and highlight the importance of early detection and intervention, especially in children's behavioral problems, in order to avoid vulnerability to comorbidity and more severe symptoms in the future.

Behavioral problems in children with primary monosymptomatic nocturnal enuresis.

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES: Primary monosymptomatic nocturnal enuresis (PMNE) is a common distressing condition to children and parents. This study aimed to determine frequencies, severities and characteristics of behavioral problems with PMNE. METHODS: This cross-sectional study included 80 children with PMNE (age: 12.58 ± 1.24 yrs.; boys = 58, girls = 22) and 60 healthy children. Behavioral symptoms were assessed by Strength and Difficulties Questionnaire (SDQ). RESULTS: This study included 80 children (boys/girls ratio = 2.64:1) with PMNE. They had mean age of 12.58 ± 1.24 yrs. The majority (70%) had good response to medical treatment. Compared to controls, children with enuresis had higher frequencies of emotional, conduct and hyperactivity-inattention symptoms and peer relationship and prosocial problems and higher total (P = 0.001) and different subscales' scores of SDQ. There was an overlap of behavioral problems in 52.2% of children with nocturnal enuresis. Compared to children without behavioral symptoms, children with behavioral symptoms were significantly older at age at presentation (P = 0.046) regardless of gender, residence and type or response to medications. Multiple regression analysis showed that emotional [ß = 0.053 (95%CI = 0.037-0.084), P = 0.024] and hyperactivity-inattention symptoms [ß = 0.063 (95%CI = 0.028-0.097), P = 0.001] were significantly associated with enuresis independent to other problems. CONCLUSION: PMNE is associated with higher risk of behavioral problems particularly emotional and hyperactivity-inattention symptoms indicating externalizing and internalizing problems, therefore, the importance of early non-pharmacological or/and drug interventions. The comorbid behavioral disorders should be treated separately according to evidence-based recommendations to prevent persistence of enuresis and the development of psychiatric disorders in the future.

The Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire Predicts Concurrent Mental Health Difficulties in a Transdiagnostic Sample of Struggling Learners.

Children and adolescents with developmental problems are at increased risk of experiencing mental health problems. The Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire (SDQ) is widely used as a screener for detecting mental health difficulties in these populations, but its use thus far has been restricted to groups of children with diagnosed disorders (e.g., ADHD). Transdiagnostic approaches, which focus on symptoms and soften or remove the boundaries between traditional categorical disorders, are increasingly adopted in research and practice. The aim of this study was to assess the potential of the SDQ to detect concurrent mental health problems in a transdiagnostic sample of children. The sample were referred by health and educational professionals for difficulties related to learning (N = 389). Some had one diagnosis, others had multiple, but many had no diagnoses. Parent-rated SDQ scores were significantly positively correlated with parent ratings of mental health difficulties on the Revised Child Anxiety and Depression Scale (RCADS). Ratings on the SDQ Emotion subscale significantly predicted the likelihood of having concurrent clinical anxiety and depression scores. Ratings on the Hyperactivity subscale predicted concurrent anxiety levels. These findings suggest the SDQ could be a valuable screening tool for identifying existing mental health difficulties in children recognized as struggling, as it can be in typically developing children and those with specific diagnoses.

Emotional and Behavioural disorders in a cohort with Down syndrome using the Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire: A pilot study.

BACKGROUND: Globally, mental health disorders and behavioural problems afflict persons with Down syndrome (DS) with a high prevalence reported in some studies. However, data on behavioural and emotional disorders in DS cohort in Asian countries are lacking. AIMS: To assess the mental health status of children and adults with DS, using the Strength and Difficulties Questionnaire (SDQ) and its impact on caregivers using the impact supplement. METHODS: The questionnaires were administered to caregivers of eligible participants aged ≥4 years. In addition, Down syndrome participant's ≥ 11 years old attempted the self-report. Scoring was done as per standard SDQ guidelines. RESULTS: The total difficulties score was observed to be at least borderline high in 30.6% (19/62) of the participants. Peer relationships and conduct subscale issues were rated high, with abnormal internalizing scores predominating over externalizing scores. From parents' perspective, behavioural issues impacted 41.9% (26/62) of participants' in areas of education, peer relationship and leisure. However, only 3.8% (1/26) of the caregivers whose children had behavioural issues perceived them as a burden. CONCLUSIONS: Mental health difficulties are a significant morbidity in our DS cohort. SDQ is a useful user-friendly tool for identification of behavioural problems enabling timely referral for intervention and therapy.

The Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire is a usable way to address mental health at well-child visits in general practice - a qualitative study of feasibility.

BACKGROUND: Mental health problems is frequent among children and psychopathology in early childhood seems to predict mental disorders in adulthood. All Danish children are offered seven free well-child visits at their General Practitioner (GP) during their first 5 years of life. GPs have a unique position to address mental health problems at the well-child visits, but they lack a systematic approach when assessing children's mental health. The purpose of this study was to investigate if the Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire (SDQ) is a usable way to address preschool children's mental health in general practice. METHODS: A qualitative study of feasibility. Parents completed an online version of the SDQ at home. At the well-child visit, the GP used the SDQ results as a basis for a talk about the child's mental health. Afterwards the author JS conducted semistructured interviews with both the parent and the GP over the phone. The interviews were descriptively analyzed using the Framework Approach. RESULTS: Five primary care centres with 22 general practitioners in both Copenhagen and Region Zealand participated. Twenty four parents completed the SDQ and were interviewed. Participating parents and GPs agreed, that the SDQ introduced mental health as a natural and important part of the well-child visit. Online access had clear advantages: time for reflection at home and preparation, plus a clear result summary for the GP. Some of the GPs were worried that the questionnaire would be too time consuming, and might compromise the individualistic style of general practice. Some parents were worried if children with minor problems would be diagnosed. CONCLUSIONS: The online SDQ was well-accepted and feasible in daily practice. Implementing the SDQ into the well-child visit could strengthen the focus on the child's mental health. However, before the SDQ can be generally implemented a guideline on how to utilize it in the well-child visit is needed, as well as studies of efficacy in this setting. TRIAL REGISTRATION: Not relevant.

EQ-5D-Y-5L as a patient-reported outcome measure in psychiatric inpatient care for children and adolescents - a cross-sectional study.

BACKGROUND: Psychiatric disorders have a major individual and societal impact. Until now, the association between health-related quality of life and physical disorders has been far more investigated than the association with psychiatric disorders. Patient-reported outcome measures makes it possible to capture the patient perspective to improve treatments and evaluate treatment outcomes. The aim of this study is to measure health-related quality of life with the EQ-5D-Y-5L among patients in child and adolescent psychiatric inpatient care and to test the instrument's psychometric properties in terms of feasibility and construct validity. METHODS: Data were collected at the child and adolescent psychiatric inpatient facility in Region Stockholm. A questionnaire including the EQ-5D-Y-5L instrument, the Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire with an impact supplement and a self-rated health question, was administered for self-completion using paper and pencil, with an interviewer present. The Chi-square test was used to investigate differences in proportion of reported problems in the EQ-5D-Y-5L dimensions and the Mann-Whitney U test was used for differences in mean EQ VAS scores. Feasibility was assessed by investigating proportion of missing and ambiguous answers and Spearman's and Pearson's correlation were used to examine construct validity. RESULTS: In total 52 adolescents participated in the study and the majority were girls. The most common diagnosis at admission was depressive episode/recurrent depressive disorder. All participants reported problems on at least one dimension. Most problems were reported in the dimension 'feeling worried, sad or unhappy', where 64% reported severe or extreme problems. Mean EQ VAS score was 29.2. Feasibility was supported and construct validity indicated as some of the hypothesised correlations between the EQ-5D-Y-5 L and the Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire were found, however, for 'doing usual activities' and 'having pain or discomfort' the correlations were weaker than hypothesised. CONCLUSIONS: This is the first study where the newly developed EQ-5D-Y-5L instrument has been used in psychiatric inpatient care for youth. Participants reported problems in all severity levels in most of the EQ-5D-Y-5L dimensions; mean EQ VAS score was considerably low. Feasibility of the EQ-5D-Y-5L was supported, however other psychometric properties need to be further tested in a larger sample.