Bridging the Mental Health Gap: Evaluating the Psychometric Properties of the Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire for Nigerian Adolescents

Adolescence is a critical period for the development of mental health disorders, making early identification during this time essential for enabling targeted interventions and preventing long-term adverse consequences. Globally, one in seven adolescents experiences poor mental health, including depression and anxiety, yet many countries, especially in sub-Saharan Africa, face a scarcity of mental healthcare provisions. Tools like the Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire (SDQ), which assesses emotional and behavioural problems in children and adolescents, offer a potential solution for identifying issues early. However, its applicability in non-Western, sub-Saharan African contexts, requires further scrutiny. This study assesses the psychometric properties of the SDQ in a representative sample of N=2,178 (n=1,366 female, age 10-19, mean age = 14.758, SD=1.902) in Oyo state, Nigeria, specifically examining the measure’s factor structure and measurement invariance across demographic groups such as sex, age, parental education, and marital status. Our results demonstrate that the original 5-factor model of the SDQ did not fit well for the Nigerian sample, consistent with previous studies in sub-Saharan Africa. Interestingly, a 3-factor model previously proposed for Nigerian contexts (Apka et al., 2016) also did not achieve good model fit, necessitating further psychometric probing. We found that a slightly modified 5-factor model (releasing items of Q02 ‘I am restless’, Q05 ‘I get very angry’ and Q06 ‘I am usually on my own’) showed excellent fit, but some overlap between emotional symptoms, conduct problems, and peer issues suggests that the SDQ’s constructs may need further adaptation for cultural specificity. We also established that the SDQ exhibited full scalar invariance across sex and age groups, supporting its utility in diverse demographic groups. However, partial scalar invariance across parental marital status indicates that family dynamics may influence responses to certain items. These findings underscore the importance of refining the SDQ for use in sub-Saharan Africa, highlighting the need for culturally appropriate tools to address adolescent mental health challenges in diverse settings.