Validity and Reliability of Physical Functioning Computer-adaptive Tests for Children With Cerebral Palsy

Stephen M. Haley, Ross S. Chafetz, Feng Tian, Kathleen Montpetit, Kyle Watson, George Gorton, M. J. Mulcahey
2010 Journal of Pediatric Orthopaedics  
Background-The purpose of this study was to assess the concurrent validity and reliability of scores from four new parent-report computer adapted testing (CAT) programs developed to measure physical functioning of children with cerebral palsy (CP). The Shriners Hospitals for Children (SHC) CP-CAT battery includes upper extremity skills (UE), lower extremity and mobility skills (LE), activity (ACT), and global physical health (GPH). Methods-This was a prospective study of 91 children with CP who
more » ... were tested cross-sectionally and 27 children with CP who were administered the CP-CAT programs twice within approximately a one-month interval. We examined concurrent validity of the four SHC CP-CAT programs by Pearson correlations with comparative parent-report instruments. Scale reliability was tested by developing estimates of marginal reliability; test-retest reliability was assessed by intraclass correlations. Results-Pearson correlations were moderate to high in matching content domains of the CATs with the comparison measures. Marginal reliability estimates were always better for the CAT program than the comparative instruments. Average test-retest reliability using Intraclass correlations across the four CATs was ICC 3,1 = 0.91 with a range of 0.88-0.94. Conclusions-We found the CAT scores to be related to expected domains from external instruments, to have good scale reliability and to have stable scores as determined by test-retest reliability. These results support using parent-report CATs in the assessment of physical functioning in children with CP. Level of Evidence-This is a level II prospective study designed to establish the validity and reliability of computer adaptive testing as an evaluation method.
doi:10.1097/bpo.0b013e3181c85453 pmid:20032746 pmcid:PMC2820382 fatcat:mcmoodehfjfevlvjsr3lu47w2e