Wolff Jason J, Boyd Brian A, Elison Jed T
Department of Educational Psychology, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, MN USA.
Department of Allied Health Sciences, University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, NC USA.
J Neurodev Disord. 2016 Aug 2;8:27. doi: 10.1186/s11689-016-9161-x. eCollection 2016.
Restricted and repetitive behaviors are characteristic phenotypic features of many neurodevelopmental, psychiatric, and neurological conditions. During early childhood, such behaviors are considered normative. More research is needed to delineate the dimensions of restricted and repetitive behavior across typical and atypical development during this period.
We developed the 34-item parent-rated Repetitive Behavior Scale for Early Childhood (RBS-EC) to capture quantitative, dimensional features across a broad range of behaviors contributing to this domain. We evaluated its psychometric properties and factor structure in a community sample of 914 toddlers.
The RBS-EC showed excellent overall internal consistency (α = 0.90), strong test-retest reliability (ICC = 0.87 for topographies and 0.90 for frequency) and evidence of convergent and discriminative validity. Using a split-half approach to factor analysis, we identified that a three- or four-factor structure best fit the data and confirmatory factor analysis indicated acceptable fit for both models. The empirically derived four-factor model was consistent with our conceptual model and included repetitive motor, restricted interests and behavior, ritual and routine, and self-directed behavior.
This initial study indicates that the RBS-EC is a reliable and valid instrument for characterizing quantitative, dimensional aspects of restricted and repetitive behaviors in young children.
受限及重复性行为是许多神经发育、精神及神经疾病的典型表型特征。在幼儿期，此类行为被认为是正常的。需要更多研究来描绘这一时期典型和非典型发育过程中受限及重复行为的维度。
我们编制了由家长评定的34项幼儿重复行为量表（RBS-EC），以获取该领域广泛行为的定量维度特征。我们在914名幼儿的社区样本中评估了其心理测量特性和因子结构。
RBS-EC显示出出色的总体内部一致性（α = 0.90）、较强的重测信度（行为表现的组内相关系数ICC = 0.87，频率的ICC = 0.90）以及收敛效度和区分效度的证据。采用分半法进行因子分析，我们发现三因素或四因素结构最适合数据，验证性因子分析表明两种模型的拟合度均可接受。根据经验得出的四因素模型与我们的概念模型一致，包括重复动作、受限兴趣和行为、仪式和常规以及自我导向行为。
这项初步研究表明，RBS-EC是一种可靠且有效的工具，可用于描述幼儿受限及重复行为的定量维度特征。
