Subtyping of Strengths and Difficulties in a Chinese Adolescent Sample: a Latent Class Analysis

The purpose of this study was to explore the subtyping of strengths and difficulties among normal Chinese adolescents using Latent Class Analysis (LCA). The Chinese version of the Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire (SDQ-C) was administered to 4121adolescents, ages 11–18 years (M = 15.35, SD = 1.70) recruited from 12 Chinese middle schools. Obvious grouping features appeared, and the model of the three latent classes was supported. The three groups were defined as the “high difficulties group”, “uncooperative group”, and “well-adjusted group”, the three groups accounted for 34.8, 29.9, and 35.3 % of the total sample respectively. After extracting three latent classes from the data, a multivariate logistic regression model was employed to assess the relationship between the three latent classes and gender, age, parents’ marital status, and parents’ educational attainment. Further analyses revealed that compared to the well-adjusted group, the adolescents from the high difficulties group and uncooperative group were older, and had parents with unstable marriages and lower educational attainments. Significant heterogeneity in strengths and difficulties was revealed in this Chinese adolescent sample. The three- group cluster solution, based on the analyses of difficulties and strengths, provided further support for models of mental health that extend beyond the traditional medical model, revealing youth who might be missed in mental health screenings focusing only on difficulties. Further research, with different cultural samples, is needed to support these results.