Validating Screening Tool in Malayalam for XXXX .

@entity1 @entity9054 @entity146
OBJECTIVES: Valid screening tools are needed to identify Indian @entity1 and adolescents with mental health problems, both for clinical or research purposes. The present study validated the Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire (SDQ) in Malayalam across different informants and sub-scales. METHODS: A sample of 150 @entity1 and adolescents seen in a @entity146 clinic for @entity1 in Kerala, India was compared to a community sample of 1984 @entity1 from six surrounding urban and rural districts. @entity1 in clinic and community samples were screened with the parent-report SDQ; those over 11 y completed the self-report SDQ. The community sample was also screened with the teacher-report SDQ and the clinical sample received formal diagnoses from a @entity1 psychiatrist blind to SDQ scores. The discriminative validity of the SDQ was investigated using Receiver Operator Characteristic (ROC) curves and by assessing Area Under the Curve (AUC). RESULTS: The SDQ discriminated reliably between clinical and community samples for the SDQ total score and its subscales. Within the clinic sample, 49  % of @entity1 qualified for more than one broad diagnostic grouping. The SDQ discriminated between diagnostic categories in the clinic sample, but did so most effectively for @entity9054 . Based on the cut-offs that generated the highest combined value of sensitivity and specificity, the estimated rate of @entity146 in the community sample was 13.6  % (parent-report) and 7.3  % (self-report). CONCLUSIONS: The SDQ is a useful screening tool for @entity1 and @entity146 for Malayalam speakers in Kerala, India.
