Population mean scores predict child mental disorder rates: validating SDQ prevalence estimators in Britain

Abstract

The proportion of children with a disorder is closely predicted by mean symptom scores, highlighting the potential importance of population-wide interventions to improve child mental health. In Britain, SDQ mean total difficulty scores generally provide an accurate and unbiased method of assessing the mental health of different subgroups. SDQ prevalence estimators may facilitate presenting these research findings as proportions that are more easily interpreted by policymakers and service providers.