Measuring the self-care practice of children and adolescents: instrument development.

PURPOSE

To develop an instrument to measure the self-care practice of children and adolescents.

SUBJECTS

471 students, age 9-18, in 4th-12th grade.

METHODS

This methodological study involved item development and testing the instrument for reliability, readability, and construct validity.

FINDINGS

Study findings for the 35-item Child and Adolescent Self-Care Practice Questionnaire included a coefficient alpha of .83 and moderate correlations with two self-care agency instruments. Factors corresponding to the self-care requisites in Orem's model were identified using a LISREL confirmatory factor analysis approach.

CONCLUSIONS & IMPLICATIONS FOR NURSING: The Child and Adolescent Self-Care Practice Questionnaire can be used in further research to determine how children and adolescents perform as self-care agents. Activities are identified and measured, intervention strategies to improve behaviors can be planned.