[Socio-emotional problems among hearing-impaired children--initial results of the German version of the Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire (SDQ-D)].

OBJECTIVES

Many studies demonstrate the precariousness of hearing-impaired children's socio-emotional development and bring home the necessity of early and reliable diagnosis. The German version of the Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire (SDQ-D) is a fairly new screening procedure examined here with a view to its usefulness in diagnosing hearing-impaired children.

METHODS

The SDQ-D parent version was completed by 213 mothers and 213 fathers of hearing-impaired children within their families as part of a larger study on familial socialisation. The procedure's factorial structure and measurement accuracy were tested, and the prevalence rate of emotional and behavioural disorders was determined in comparison to the German standardization sample (Woerner et al., 2002a) in the context of other variables (age, sex, communicative competence, educational status).

RESULTS

With the exception of the "Behaviour Disorders" scale, the SDQ-D factorial structure can be reproduced in a satisfactory manner. The same can be said for its measurement accuracy. The prevalence of behaviour disorders under the condition "Hearing Impairment" is clearly higher on almost all scales, as well as for the total problem score. Special attention should be paid to the scores in the fields "Emotional Problems" and "Peer Problems" because of their significant correlation to the children's age.

CONCLUSIONS

The SDQ-D provides a valid yet economical screening procedure which can also be applied in the diagnosis of hearing-impaired children; children whose psychological development is especially endangered at an early age can be identified and referred for a more exact diagnosis and continuing counselling and therapy.