This study examined the factor structure of the parent and teacher versions of the Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire (SDQ; R. Goodman, 1997) with a sample of first-grade children at risk for educational failure. The 5-factor model previously found in studies using exploratory factor analysis was fit to the data for both parent and teacher questionnaires. Fit indices for both versions were marginally adequate. Model fit was comparable across gender and ethnic groups. Factor fit for the parent questionnaire was invariant across parent educational level. The examination of convergent and discriminant validity included peer evaluations of each SDQ construct. Thus, each of the five constructs was evaluated by three sources (parent, teacher, and child). On the basis of D. T. Campbell and D. W. Fiske's (1959) multitrait-multimethod approach as well as a confirmatory factor analysis using the correlated uniqueness model, the SDQ has good convergent validity but relatively poor discriminant validity. KeywordsStrengths and Difficulties Questionnaire; confirmatory factor analysis; correlated uniqueness model; multitrait-multimethod; validity Several reports have documented the magnitude and range of risk conditions that children and youths confront in their daily lives (Annie E. Casey Foundation, 2004). Nearly one in five children in the United States live in poverty and experience the multiple, layered risks associated with poor homes and poor communities (Evans, 2004;U.S. Census Bureau, 2002). As a result of widespread risk conditions and low access to preventive or remedial mental health services, approximately 20% of children living in the United States have a diagnosable mental disorder, and 9% to 13% of children have severe emotional disorders that impair their functioning at home or school (Friedman, Katz-Leavy, Manderscheid, & Sondheimer, 1996). Consequently, at least 25% of children in the United States are at serious risk of not achieving "productive adulthood" (National Research Council, 1993). These statistics on population-level risk among youth, combined with a rapidly expanding array of empirically supported mental health prevention programs, have led to renewed calls for an increased emphasis on deploying empirically supported prevention programs into children's natural settings. The Surgeon General's National Action Agenda for Children's Mental Health (U.S. Public Health Service, 2002) has recommended that prevention programs be embedded into schools and other child-serving institutions, and the National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH) has targeted significant resources toward efforts to disseminate such programs into Correspondence concerning this article should be addressed to Jan N. Hughes, 4225 TAMU, College Station, TX 77840-4225. E-mail: jhughes@tamu.edu. Action Editor: Melissa A. Bray. NIH Public Access NIH-PA Author ManuscriptNIH-PA Author Manuscript NIH-PA Author Manuscript schools and other community settings. As school psychologists increasingly move into prevention and public ...

This study used hierarchical linear modeling to predict first grade students' peer acceptance, classroom engagement, and sense of school belonging from measures of normative classroom teacher-student support and individual teacher-student support. Participants were 509 (54.4% male) ethnically diverse, first grade children attending one of three Texas School districts (1 urban, 2 small city) who scored below their school district median on a measure of literacy administered at the beginning of first grade. Peer nominations from 5147 classmates were used to assess both normative and individual levels of teacher support. Normative classroom teacher-student support predicted children's peer acceptance and classroom engagement, above the effects of child gender, ethnic minority status, and individual teacher-student support. Results are discussed in terms of implications for teacher preparation and professional development.

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