Psychometric properties of the Young Children's Participation and Environment Measure.

OBJECTIVE

To evaluate the psychometric properties of the newly developed Young Children's Participation and Environment Measure (YC-PEM).

DESIGN

Cross-sectional study.

SETTING

Data were collected online and by telephone.

PARTICIPANTS

Convenience and snowball sampling methods were used to survey caregivers of children (N=395, comprising children with [n=93] and without [n=302] developmental disabilities and delays) between the ages of 0 and 5 years (mean age±SD, 35.33±20.29 mo) and residing in North America.

INTERVENTIONS

Not applicable.

MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES

The YC-PEM includes 3 participation scales and 1 environment scale. Each scale is assessed across 3 settings: home, daycare/preschool, and community. Data were analyzed to derive estimates of internal consistency, test-retest reliability, and construct validity.

RESULTS

Internal consistency ranged from .68 to .96 and .92 to .96 for the participation and environment scales, respectively. Test-retest reliability (2-4 wk) ranged from .31 to .93 for participation scales and from .91 to .94 for the environment scale. One of 3 participation scales and the environment scale demonstrated significant group differences by disability status across all 3 settings, and all 4 scales discriminated between disability groups for the daycare/preschool setting. The participation scales exhibited small to moderate positive associations with functional performance scores.

CONCLUSIONS

Results lend initial support for the use of the YC-PEM in research to assess the participation of young children with disabilities and delays in terms of (1) home, daycare/preschool, and community participation patterns; (2) perceived environmental supports and barriers to participation; and (3) activity-specific parent strategies to promote participation.