Validity and reliability of the developmental assessment screening scale.

OBJECTIVES: To develop and validate the 6-year Ages and Stages Questionnaire (ASQ) for school-age children. METHODS: Parents/caregivers of children 66-78 months were recruited from 6 countries and 15 states in the United States. Similar to other ASQ intervals, the 6-year ASQ has five developmental domains targeted for children from 66 months to 78 months of age. We assessed internal consistency reliability, test-retest reliability, the scale structure, validity (correlation coefficients), and utility of the 6-year ASQ. The 6-year ASQ screens development in five domains using 30 items. RESULTS: Coefficient alpha measuring internal consistency was 0.97. Test-retest reliability was estimated by having parents complete two ASQ's on the same child within a week interval. Correlations between scores of the two ASQ's reflected stability of scores. Test-retest reliability results were robust with an intraclass correlation coefficient of 0.94. Factor analysis results resulted in a five factors structure. The Pearson correlations coefficients between the latent variables were moderate to large and statistically significant, P < 0.0001. The 6-year ASQ screens development in five domains using 30 items. The administration time varied from 10 to 60 min with a mean of 15.17 min. General utility result shows that the 6-year ASQ can be used with satisfaction by caregivers, pediatricians, professionals, and parents. CONCLUSIONS: Preliminary data on the 6-year ASQ reflected promising results. An easy-to-administer, accurate caregiver-completed screening tool may increase the frequency of screening for school-age children.

Cultural adaptation of a parent completed social emotional screening instrument for young children: Ages And Stages Questionnaire-Social Emotional.

A major barrier to the identification and treatment of social and emotional problems in young children is the lack of psychometrically sound, low-cost, culturally and linguistically appropriate assessments, especially for the preschool population. While some screening instruments have been developed in the United States, very little or no interest in this area has materialized in Korea. One possible solution is an adaptation of an existing tool from the U.S. for use with Korean families. The present study investigated a Korean translation of the Ages and Stages Questionnaires: Social Emotional (ASQ:SE) by examining the appropriateness of the translation as well as its reliability and validity when studied with a large sample of Korean young children and their parents. Overall, findings were positive. Internal consistency for the Korean-translated ASQ:SE was strong, with an overall alpha of .68, ranging from .56 to .77. Test-retest reliability was .84 between ASQ:SE questionnaires completed by parents at successive time periods. Overall agreement of two questionnaire classifications (i.e., at risk, OK) completed by parents within one to four weeks was 94. Validity results, which were used to establish cutoff points and measure convergent validity, were also adequate. Further research on validity and reliability of the Korean ASQ:SE with a larger, more diverse sample is needed.