Peer-reviewed article
Psychometric Measures of Instruments of Occupational Performance in Children With Developmental Coordination Disorder: A Systematic Review.
Favilla M, de Souza CB, de Oliveira JA, Rebustini F, Hasue RH ·
Summary
Written by AI, not yet AICS's view · claude-haiku-4-5-20251001This is a systematic review of psychometric validation methods used in studies of assessment instruments for occupational performance in children with developmental coordination disorder. The review examined 24 articles across 17 different scales to assess the quality and consistency of validity evidence. The authors found that validation techniques varied widely across studies, with discriminant validation and reliability analysis being most commonly reported, while factor analysis for internal structure was rarely used.
Key points
- Twenty-four articles were included in the review, covering 17 different assessment scales
- Discriminant validation was the most reported psychometric measure, with about half of studies using both parametric and nonparametric analyses
- Reliability analysis was the most prevalent psychometric method, primarily using Cronbach's alpha and test-retest approaches
- Only one-third of studies used exploratory or confirmatory factor analysis for assessing internal structure
- Validation techniques across studies were often incomplete and inconsistent, with limited use of contemporary concepts of validity evidence
Limitations
This is a methodological review of assessment instruments rather than an evaluation of an intervention or assessment of child well-being outcomes. It cannot tell us about the effectiveness of interventions for developmental coordination disorder or the actual well-being of affected children.
Abstract
Background Because instruments are routinely employed by health professionals, it is essential to establish their psychometric quality, particularly regarding validity evidence. Objective The study aimed to analyse the psychometric measures used in studies of validity evidence of instruments for assessing the occupational performance of children with developmental coordination disorder. Methods A systematic review was conducted according to PRISMA (Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis) guidelines using five electronic databases. Results Twenty-four articles were included, with 17 different scales. Discriminant validation was the most reported psychometric measure, with half of the studies reporting using parametric and nonparametric analyses. Among the psychometric methods verified in the studies, reliability analysis was the most prevalent, using Cronbach's alpha and test-retest; one study used ordinal alpha. One third of the studies used exploratory or confirmatory factor analysis for internal structure. Conclusion The validation techniques used varied among the studies found, and these were sometimes incomplete and confusing, as well as an insignificant result in relation to the use of more contemporary concepts for the types of validity evidence. Factor analysis for internal structure was rarely reported in the studies; however, it stands out for being a more robust technique for this type of validation.