VALIDITY, RELIABILITY AND UTILITY OF THE 6-YEAR AGES AND STAGES QUESTIONNAIRE

Abstract

Introduction: The Ages and Stages Questionnaire (ASQ), is a parent completed questionnaire that may be used as a general developmental screening tool, evaluating five developmental domains: communication, gross motor, fine motor, problem-solving, and personal adaptive skills, for children from ages of 1 to 66 months (1). Now that the usefulness of the ASQ has been demonstrated in many contexts, and international interest has been aroused by the demonstrated benefit of early intervention for children with developmental delays, the time has come to expand the age range of ASQ. Researchers have designed the 6-Year ASQ to answer the need for a screening tool for children approaching school age.
The 6-Year ASQ (2) will evaluate five developmental domains: communication, gross motor, fine motor, problem-solving, and personal adaptive skills, for children from the ages of 66 months to 78 months.
Objectives: The primary objective of this research study was to expand the age range of the ASQ and measure the psychometric properties of the 6-Year ASQ.
Methods: The purpose of this research study is to measure the psychometric properties, including validity, reliability and utility of the 6-Year ASQ.
Results: This research study was focused on the psychometric properties of the 6-Year ASQ (2). A Confirmatory Factor Analysis (CFA) with categorical data confirmed the 6-Year ASQ domains e.g., communication, gross motor, fine motor, problem-solving, and personal adaptive skills. The implied model showed high level of fit, so its parameter was interpretable, indicating appropriateness for the 6-Year ASQ structure. The results were promising in terms of reliability, validity and utility of the 6-Year ASQ. The research result showed that the 6-Year ASQ (2) was found to be highly reliable.
Conclusion: This research study have investigated the usefulness of the 6-Year ASQ and examined the validity, reliability and utility of the 6-Year ASQ. The results of this research study provided initial evidence for use of the 6-Year ASQ. This questionnaire may help with a model for identifying school-age children early and improving their outcomes. In summary, the result of this research study supported the use of the 6-Year ASQ for early identification of suspected developmental delay. The 6-Year ASQ can be used to improve the early identification of school-age children and improve outcomes before disabilities become more established (2).