Psychometric Properties of the Revised Developmental Coordination Disorder Questionnaire

The Developmental Coordination Disorder Questionnaire (DCDQ) is a parent-completed measure designed to identify subtle motor problems in children of 8 to 14.6 years of age. The purpose of this study was to extend the lower age range to children aged 5 to 7 years, revise items to ensure clarity, develop new scoring, and evaluate validity of the revised questionnaire. Additional items with improved wording were generated by an expert panel. Analyses of internal consistency, factor loading, and qualitative/quantitative feedback from researchers, clinicians, and parents were used to select 15 items with the strongest psychometric properties. Internal consistency was high (alpha =. 94). The expanded questionnaire was completed by the parents of 287 children, aged 5–15 years, who were typically developing. Logistic regression modeling was used to generate separate cutoff scores for three age groups (overall sensitivity = 85%, specificity = 71%). The revised DCDQ was then compared to other standardized measures in a sample of 232 children referred for therapy services. Differences in scores between children with and without DCD (p <. 001) provide evidence of construct validity. Correlations between DCDQ scores and Movement Assessment Battery for Children (r =. 55) and Test of Visual-Motor Integration (r =. 42) scores support concurrent validity. The results provide evidence that the revised DCDQ is a valid clinical screening tool for DCD.     

Psychometric Evaluation of the Dutch Version of the Assessment of Preschool Children's Participation (APCP): Construct Validity and Test–Retest Reliability

ABSTRACT

The aim of this study is to examine construct validity, internal consistency, and test–retest reliability of the Dutch translation of the Assessment of Preschool Children's Participation (APCP) a participation measure for children aged 2 to 5 years and 11 months with and without physical disabilities. Parents of 126 preschool children participated. Sixty-seven of the children had no physical disabilities (mean age three years two months, SD 1.2) and 59 children had physical disabilities (mean age two years nine months, SD 1.8). Validity was tested using three hypotheses regarding having a physical disability, gender and age differences. Most, but not all hypotheses were confirmed. Children with a physical disability participated in fewer activities and with lower intensity than children without physical disabilities (p < .001). Boys and girls participated in an equally wide variety of activities and with similar intensity except for skill development. Four- to five-year-old children in general participated in more activities than two- to three-year-old children and had a higher intensity score (p < .001). For activity types, age differences were found for skill development (p < .001) and social activities (p < .001). Internal consistency was sufficient for four out of 10 activity types. Intra Class Correlations for test–retest reliability ranged from 63 to .91. Our findings indicate that the Dutch APCP shows sufficient psychometric properties for some but not all aspects of the measure.     

Reliability of the Norwegian Version of the Children's Assessment of Participation and Enjoyment (CAPE) and Preferences for Activities of Children (PAC)

ABSTRACT

This study examined test–retest reliability of the Norwegian version of Children's Assessment of Participation and Enjoyment (CAPE), and Preferences for Activities of Children (PAC) in children with and without disabilities. Totally 141 children, 107 typically developing, mean age 11.1, and 34 with disabilities, mean age 14.2 years participated. A cross-sectional, test–retest design was applied. The participants completed CAPE and PAC twice within mean 19 days. Reliability was examined by Chronbach's alpha, intraclass correlation coefficients (ICC), and Kappa statistics. The alpha values for internal consistency varied between 0.53 and 0.87 for the CAPE and between 0.75 and 0.93 for the PAC. ICC coefficients varied from 0.49 to 0.83 for the CAPE and 0.50 to 0.85 for the PAC. Kappa coefficients varied from 0.30 to 0.66. The Norwegian CAPE and PAC demonstrated sufficient measurement properties of internal consistency and test–retest reliability. The reliability of the CAPE, however, was not entirely satisfactory.     

Good test--retest reliability for standard and advanced false-belief tasks across a wide range of abilities

Although tests of young children's understanding of mind have had a remarkable impact upon developmental and clinical psychological research over the past 20 years, very little is known about their reliability. Indeed, the only existing study of test-retest reliability suggests unacceptably poor results for first-order false-belief tasks (Mayes, Klin, Tercyak, Cicchetti, & Cohen, 1996), although this may in part reflect the nonstandard (video-based) procedures adopted by these authors. The present study had four major aims. The first was to re-examine the reliability of false-belief tasks, using more standard (puppet and storybook) procedures. The second was to assess whether the test-retest reliability of false-belief task performance is equivalent for children of contrasting ability levels. The third aim was to explore whether adopting an aggregate approach improves the reliability with which children's early mental-state awareness can be measured. The fourth aim was to examine for the first time the test-retest reliability of children's performances on more advanced theory-of-mind tasks. Our results suggest that most standard and advanced false-belief tasks do in fact show good test-retest reliability and internal consistency, with very strong test-retest correlations between aggregate scores for children of all levels of ability.     

Development of an Age Band on the ManuVis for 3-Year-Old Children with Visual Impairments

Aim: To compare fine motor performance of 3-year-old children with visual impairment with peers having normal vision, to provide reference scores for 3-year-old children with visual impairment on the ManuVis, and to assess inter-rater reliability. Method: 26 children with visual impairment (mean age: 3 years 7 months (SD 3 months); 17 boys) and 28 children with normal vision (mean age: 3 years 7 months (SD 4 months); 14 boys) participated in the study. The ManuVis age band for 3-year-old children comprised two one-handed tasks, two two-handed tasks, and a pre-writing task. Results: Children with visual impairment needed more time on all tasks (p < .01) and performed the pre-writing task less accurately than children with normal vision (p < .001). Children aged 42–47 months performed significantly faster on two tasks and had better total scores than children aged 36–41 months (p < .05). Inter-rater reliability was excellent (Intra-class Correlation Coefficient = 0.96–0.99). Conclusions: The ManuVis age band for 3-year-old children is appropriate to assess fine motor skills, and is sensitive to differences between children with visual impairment and normal vision and between half-year age groups. Reference scores are provided for 3-year-old children with visual impairment to identify delayed fine motor development.     

Psychometric properties of the Child Development Assessment Questionnaire (QAD-PIPAS) for use in population studies involving Brazilian children aged 0–59 months

ObjectiveTo analyze the psychometric properties of the Child Development Assessment Questionnaire (QAD-PIPAS).MethodsThis methodological study was comprised of two axes. The first one aimed to analyze the instrument's construct validity (discriminant and concurrent validity) and internal consistency, and the second one examined test-retest reliability, involving two different samples and procedures. For construct validity and internal consistency, the sample was recruited in Embu das Artes-SP, Brasilia-DF and Recife-PE during the immunization campaign in 2017, involving caregivers of 2005 children under 60 months of age (1295 under 36 and 710 from 37 to 59 months). For the test-retest analysis the sample consisted of 30 children aged 0–59 months old that attended daycare centers in Embu das Artes-SP in 2018.ResultsMultivariate analyses of construct validity showed that the QAD-PIPAS was able to identify the association between the outcome (suspected child development delays) and expected risk and protective factors based on Nurturing Care Framework (OMS/UNICEF). A significant positive correlation was achieved between the scores of the QAD-PIPAS and CREDI in six of the eight age groups analyzed, with the most significant correlations being in the age groups from 25 to 30 and 31–36 months. Acceptable internal consistencies were identified in all age groups, with better performance above 36 months of age (Cronbach’s alpha between 0.61 to 0.80). We also found an adequate test-retest reliability (global Kappa 0.81).ConclusionThe QAD-PIPAS showed evidence of construct validity and reliability to be used in population studies involving children aged 0–59 months during multi-vaccination campaigns in Brazil.     

Development and Validation of the Both Hands Assessment for Children With Bilateral Cerebral Palsy

Aims: To develop a hand function test for children with bilateral cerebral palsy (CP) measuring bimanual performance, including quantification of possible asymmetry of hand use. Method: The Both Hands Assessment (BoHA) content was developed through adaptation of the Assisting Hand Assessment (version 5.0). Data from 171 children with bilateral CP, 22-months to 13 years olds (75 females; mean age: 6 years and 6 months) classified at Manual Ability Classification System (MACS) levels I-III, was entered into Rasch measurement model analyses to evaluate internal scale validity and aspects of reliability. Results: Sixteen items (11 unimanual and 5 bimanual) exhibited evidence for good internal scale validity and item and person reliability when analyzed separately for children with asymmetric or symmetric hand use. By calibrating the BoHA logit measures into the same frame of reference through linking, the overall measure of bimanual performance is comparable between children with asymmetric or symmetric hand use, still allowing use of separate item difficulty hierarchies. Conclusions: The Both Hands Assessment (BoHA), showed strong evidence of internal construct validity for measuring effectiveness of bimanual performance and the extent of asymmetric hand use in children with bilateral cerebral palsy, MACS levels I-III.     

Psychometric Evaluation of the Young Children's Participation and Environment Measure (YC-PEM) for use in Singapore

Aims: To estimate the psychometric properties of a culturally adapted version of the Young Children's Participation and Environment Measure (YC-PEM) for use among Singaporean families. Methods: This is a prospective cohort study. Caregivers of 151 Singaporean children with (n = 83) and without (n = 68) developmental disabilities, between 0 and 7 years, completed the YC-PEM (Singapore) questionnaire with 3 participation scales (frequency, involvement, and change desired) and 1 environment scale for three settings: home, childcare/preschool, and community. Setting-specific estimates of internal consistency, test-retest reliability, and construct validity were obtained. Results: Internal consistency estimates varied from .59 to .92 for the participation scales and .73 to .79 for the environment scale. Test-retest reliability estimates from the YC-PEM conducted on two occasions, 2–3 weeks apart, varied from .39 to .89 for the participation scales and from .65 to .80 for the environment scale. Moderate to large differences were found in participation and perceived environmental support between children with and without a disability. Conclusions: YC-PEM (Singapore) scales have adequate psychometric properties except for low internal consistency for the childcare/preschool participation frequency scale and low test-retest reliability for home participation frequency scale. The YC-PEM (Singapore) may be used for population-level studies involving young children with and without developmental disabilities.     

Test–retest Reproducibility of the Assessment of Motor and Process Skills in Children with Unilateral Cerebral Palsy

Aims: To examine test–retest reproducibility of the Assessment of Motor and Process Skills (AMPS) in children aged 8–16 years with unilateral cerebral palsy (UCP). Methods: Thirty children with mild to moderate UCP (mean age = 11y 7m, SD 2y 4m; males = 18; Manual Ability Classification System level I = 10, II = 20; Gross Motor Function Classification System level I = 9, II = 21) enrolled in a large randomized controlled trial were recruited via consecutive series sampling. Children carried out two AMPS tasks over two consecutive days according to standardized AMPS administration procedures. The standard error of measurement (SEM), smallest detectable change (SDC), 95% limits of agreement using the Bland–Altman method, and intraclass correlation coefficients (ICC; 2,1) were calculated. Results: The SDC was 0.23 logits for the AMPS motor scale and 0.30 logits for the AMPS process scale. Test–retest reliability was excellent for both the AMPS motor scale (ICC = 0.93) and the AMPS process scale (ICC = 0.86). Intra-rater reliability (n = 10) was excellent for AMPS motor scale (ICC = 0.96) and AMPS process scale (ICC = 0.98). Conclusions: The AMPS can be used by therapists with 8- to 16-year-old children with UCP as an outcome measure with changes in scores reflecting real changes in performance or capacity.     

Reliability and validity of the mother-child neglect scale

The current study offers a new way to ascertain information about child neglect by evaluating a self-report measure of neglectful behaviors, the Mother-Child Neglect Scale (MCNS). The scale was modified from an existing self-report measure, the Neglect Scale (NS), which was originally designed to measure personal histories of neglect. One hundred adolescent mothers were administered the MCNS and NS in two occasions via phone interviews. In addition, maternal abuse potential and the quality of mother-child interactions were assessed when children were age 3 and 5 years. The MCNS had high internal consistency and moderate test-retest reliability. Convergent validity was found between the MCNS and maternal histories of neglect as well as observed parenting behaviors and child abuse potential; those relationships remained after social desirability was controlled. This research tool may prove useful, in conjunction with existing assessment instruments, in determining the type and severity of past neglectful behaviors.     

Measuring Perceived Social Support and Perceived Stress Among Primary School Children in The Netherlands

Stress and social support play major roles in children’s lives and are both associated with psychological and physical well-being. Although these constructs have been shown to explain and predict well-being and health in adults and adolescents, the evidence for children is limited. From a developmental perspective, it would be premature to assume similar models for social support, stress and well-being for children as were established for adolescents and adults. Recently, the interest in child self-reports in the assessment of constructs related to well-being has increased, and research has shown that children can provide reliable and accurate information. Since no self-report questionnaires to measure stress and social support among children aged 8–11 year are available in the Netherlands, two questionnaires were adjusted for use in this younger age group and examined for internal consistency and test-retest reliability among 223 primary school children. In addition, an exploratory factor analysis (PAF) was conducted to demonstrate the dimensionality of the questionnaires. Overall, moderate to good internal consistency and test-retest reliability were found for both questionnaires. The findings suggest that both show potential as feasible and psychometrically adequate self-report measures for primary school children.     

Decision Reliability of the Assessment of Sensorimotor Integration

The decision consistency reliability of the Assessment of Sensorimotor Integration in Preschool Children was estimated. Based on a sample of 23 developmentally delayed children for 3 to 5 years of age, the po index was computed for the six subtests measuring flexion, extension, TLR integration, co-contraction, reflex integration, and bilateral motor integration. Index values for five of the subtest ranged for .78 to .96, indicating a high degree of overall classification consistency. Slightly less consistency was found for the co contraction subtest where the estimate was .67. Caution was expressed in the generalizability of these findings until corroborative evidence form larger samples are obtained.     

Quality of life in children with spinal cord injury.

PURPOSE: To compare reports of the child's quality of life (QOL) between children with spinal cord injury (SCI) and their parents using the Pediatric Quality of Life 4.0 Generic Scales (PedsQL), and assess agreement between parent and child responses. To examine the influence of level of injury on QOL and internal consistency reliability of the PedsQL in pediatric SCI. METHODS: Twenty-eight children (17 male children and 11 female children) between five and 13 years and their parents completed the PedsQL. RESULTS: Children rated their QOL better than their parents; however, there was good to excellent parent-child agreement. No differences were noted between children with tetraplegia and paraplegia. Low internal consistency reliability was obtained for various domains. CONCLUSIONS: In addition to using summary scores, specific ratings may raise important points for clinical decision-making. Results on internal consistency reliability suggest the need for condition-specific questionnaires for children with SCI.     

Evaluating health and safety knowledge of preschoolers: assessing their early start to being health smart.

INTRODUCTION: The purpose of this study was to establish the validity, reliability, and utilization of a revised and expanded Preschool Health and Safety Knowledge Assessment (PHASKA), an instrument evaluating health and safety knowledge of young children, on a diverse group of preschool children. METHODS: This study included 308 children (133 boys and 175 girls) ranging in age from 28 to 80 months (M = 53.7 months). The PHASKA was administered to children at 6 preschools and 5 health fairs on an individual basis. RESULTS: Scores on the PHASKA ranged from 1 to 49 (out of a possible 50 points), with a mean score of 37.25. Ninety-seven percent of the children older than age 3 years completed the assessment. No significant differences attributable to gender were found. However, significant age group differences were found [F (7,300) = 31.09, P < .0001]. In general, items related to safety were learned first, followed by those related to hygiene, health promotion, and nutrition. DISCUSSION: Preschoolers' scores on the PHASKA showed significant improvement with age, supporting the assertion that preschoolers are ready and willing learners of health and safety knowledge. Children rapidly gain health and safety knowledge between 3 1/2 and 5 1/2 years of age and master much of this content by their sixth birthday. The PHASKA was shown to be appropriate for determining health and safety knowledge scores for preschool-aged children.     

A Reliability Generalization on the Children’s Hope Scale

The Children’s Hope Scale is one of the most commonly used self-report measures of a child’s future oriented goal motivation. This study presents a reliability generalization on both the internal consistency and test-retest reliability estimates for the Children’s Hope Scale. While 225 published works were analyzed 4.2% authors did not report reliability estimates for their study and 10.7% induced from a previous study. The average internal consistency score (N = 164) was .81 (95% CI = .79 -- .82) and the test-retest (N = 15) at .71 (95% CI = .64 -- .78) respectively. An analysis of variance showed that non-English language samples produced moderately lower (albeit still acceptable) Cronbach’s Alpha estimates. The results of the reliability generalization suggest the score reliabilities produced by the Children’s Hope Scale are acceptable across samples. The findings of this study paired with the growing number of validation studies suggest researchers can use of the Children’s Hope Scale with increased confidence.     

象征性游戏测试的心理测量学特性研究

目的 分析象征性游戏测试（SPT）的信度、效度和项目难度等心理测量学特性。方法 共有484名幼儿，年龄13～72个月，平均（33.4±12.3）个月，参加了此项研究，包括正常组30名，年龄15～38个月，平均（25.4±7.1）个月；脑性瘫痪（脑瘫）组138例，年龄13～63个月，平均（30.1±11.3）个月；精神发育/语言发育迟缓组316例，年龄15～72个月，平均（36.2±12.2）个月。以484名被测试幼儿的SPT测试结果为样本进行内在信度研究；随机选取12名幼儿进行重测信度研究（间隔4～11 d）；随机选取18名幼儿进行评分者间信度研究（3名评分者间）；分别以30名正常组幼儿的贝莉婴儿发育量表-Ⅱ（BSID-Ⅱ）和87脑瘫和精神发育/语言发育迟缓组幼儿的雷妮语言发育量表（RDLS-Ⅲ）的测试结果为效标,确定SPT的平行效度；通过分析相同月龄段正常幼儿、脑瘫幼儿和精神发育/语言发育迟缓幼儿的SPT相当月龄差异来确定SPT的结构效度（样组间差异分析）；对484名被测试幼儿的SPT测试结果进行Rasch分析，确定SPT的24个测试项目在此样本群中的项目难度顺序，同时与原著提供的项目难度顺序进行比较分析。 结果 SPT有良好的内在信度（克朗巴赫α系数为0.897 2）；同时有良好的重测信度（ICC=0.944 9，95%CI：0.808 6～0.984 1）和评分者间信度（ICC=0.997 2，95%CI：0.992 6～0.999 0）；与BSID-Ⅱ原始分值之间的Pearson r分别为0.755 4和0.718 5，与RDLS-Ⅲ原始分值之间的Pearson r为0.765 0；脑瘫组和精神发育/语言发育迟缓组各随机抽取30例15～38个月的患儿，SPT测试时的实际月龄与正常组幼儿的差异无统计学意义，但是脑瘫组和精神发育/语言发育迟缓组的SPT相当月龄明显落后于正常幼儿，通过本研究样本群重新确定的项目难度顺序与原著提供的难度顺序保持良好的一致性（Spearman r＝0.924 0）。结论 SPT测试具有令人满意的心理测量学特性，包括良好的内在信度、重测信度、评分者间信度、平行效度、结构效度和稳定的项目难度顺序，可以用来测试幼儿的智力和语言发育潜能。     

The Parent Supervision Attributes Profile Questionnaire: a measure of supervision relevant to children''s risk of unintentional injury

OBJECTIVE: To further establish the psychometric properties of the Parent Supervision Attributes Profile Questionnaire (PSAPQ), a questionnaire measure of parent supervision that is relevant to understanding risk of unintentional injury among children 2 through 5 years of age. METHODS: To assess test-retest reliability, parents completed the PSAPQ twice, with a one month interval. Internal consistency estimates for the PSAPQ were also computed. Confirmatory factor analyses were applied to the data to assess the four factor structure of the instrument by assessing the convergent and divergent validity of the subscales and their respective items. RESULTS: Test-retest reliability and internal consistency scores were good, exceeding 0.70 for all subscales. Factor analyses confirmed the hypothesized model--namely that the 29 item questionnaire comprised four unique factors: protectiveness, supervision beliefs, risk tolerance, and fate influences on child safety. CONCLUSIONS: Previous tests comparing the PSAPQ with indices of actual supervision and children's injury history scores revealed good criterion validity. The present assessment of the PSAPQ revealed good reliability (test-retest reliability, internal consistency) and established the convergent and divergent validity of the four factors. Thus, the PSAPQ has proven to have strong psychometric properties, making it a unique and useful measure for researchers interested in studying links between supervision and young children's risks of unintentional injury.     

Development and Psychometric Evaluation of a Caregiver Survey to Assess Family-Centered Care in the Emergency Department

ObjectiveTo develop and evaluate the psychometric properties of a family caregiver-reported survey that assesses family-centeredness of care in the context of pediatric emergency department (ED) encounters.MethodsWe created a caregiver-reported scale, incorporated content expert feedback, and iteratively revised it based on cognitive interviews with caregivers. We then field tested the scale in a survey with caregivers. We dichotomized items using top-box scoring and obtained a summary score per respondent. Using a sample of 191 caregivers recruited from 9 EDs, we analyzed internal consistency reliability, dimensionality via item response theory modeling, and convergent validity with the ED Consumer Assessment of Healthcare Providers and Systems (CAHPS) survey.ResultsFeedback from the 9 experts led us to remove 4 items. We conducted 16 cognitive interviews and revised the survey in 4 rounds. An 11-item survey was field tested. Mean (standard deviation) respondent 11-item summary score was 77.2 (26.6). We removed 2 items given inconsistent response patterns, poor variability, and poor internal consistency, which increased coefficient alpha from 0.85 to 0.88 for the final scale. A multidimensional model fit the data best, but factor scores correlated strongly with summary scores, suggesting the latter are sufficient for quality improvement and future research. Regarding convergent validity, adjusted partial correlation between our scale's 9-item summary score and the ED CAHPS summary score was 0.75 (95% confidence interval 0.67–0.81).ConclusionsPsychometric analyses demonstrated strong item performance, reliability, and convergent validity for the 9-item scale. This survey can be used to assess family-centered care in the ED for research and quality improvement purposes.