Abstract: This study explored how adjusting recall periods affects the psychometric properties and factorial invariance of two mental health instruments for children and adolescents. The parental version of the Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire (SDQ) and the self-report version of the Health Behavior in School-Aged Children Symptom Checklist (HBSC-SCL) were both modified to use a 1-week recall period from the original 6-month period to better reflect the rapid changes in the COVID-19 situation and related preventive measures. The work is part of the COVID-19 and Psychological Health (COPSY) study, which focuses on the mental health and well-being of children and adolescents during COVID-19 and other crises. In this paper, 414 parents of children and adolescents aged 7 – 21 completed both the original and adapted versions of the SDQ, while 287 adolescents aged 11 – 21 responded to the HBSC-SCL (original and adapted version). Basic psychometric properties, including Cronbach’s α, were calculated and compared across the different instrument versions. Factorial invariance was assessed through confirmatory factor analysis (CFA). The results indicated small differences between the original and adapted versions of the instruments, with the mean scale score differences showing small effects ( d effect size < .25). The CFA demonstrated some invariance between the two instrument versions of the HBSC-SCL and those of the SDQ. Some basic discrepancies were noted in the factorial model of the SDQ. In conclusion, this study provides promising evidence that short-term recall adaptations are a feasible methodological approach for mental health assessments during rapidly changing crises. However, it is essential to compare the psychometric properties of the adapted versions with those of the originals.
Erhart et al. (Thu,) studied this question.
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