Peer-reviewed article

Turkish Adaptation of the School Participation Questionnaire (T-SPQ) and Investigation of Validity, Reliability and Clinical Compatibility in Children With Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder.

Kose B, Güler CE, Güney Yılmaz G, Tanrıverdi M, Yıldızdal S et al. · 1 Jul 2026

Abstract

Introduction Children with attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) often experience difficulties in academic performance, completing classroom tasks, engaging in social and emotional interactions, which can lead to limited participation. These challenges are most evident in everyday environments such as home and school, where children spend much of their time. Given the critical role of the school environment, evaluating participation in this context is essential. The School Participation Questionnaire (SPQ) assesses school participation, and this study aims to adapt the SPQ for Turkish children and investigate its validity and reliability in children with ADHD. Participants and methods The study included 250 children diagnosed with ADHD (study group) receiving treatment in the occupational therapy department and 100 undiagnosed children (control group). Participants were aged 7-12 years. The SPQ was administered to both groups to assess school participation. Assessments were completed by 12 classroom teachers, each with a minimum of 5 years of professional experience. To evaluate test-retest reliability, 100 children from the ADHD group completed the SPQ again 2 weeks after the first assessment. Results The control group demonstrated significantly higher school participation scores across all SPQ subscales compared with the ADHD group (p < 0.001). Internal consistency of the Turkish SPQ was high, with Cronbach's α values ranging from 0.82 to 0.91 and McDonald's ω values ranging from 0.83 to 0.92 across subscales. Test-retest reliability was strong, with ICC ranging from 0.84 to 0.92. Receiver operating characteristic (ROC) analysis indicated acceptable to good discriminative ability across subscales (AUC = 0.705-0.808). Conclusion The Turkish version of the School Participation Questionnaire is a valid and reliable tool for assessing school participation in children with ADHD, offering valuable insights for interventions aimed at improving their school engagement.