Construct validity of the Children's Hand-Skills ability Questionnaire (CHSQ) in children with disabilities: a Rasch analysis.
The 22-item parent CHSQ gives a valid snapshot of hand skill in children with disabilities, so you can screen quickly and then test deeper only when needed.
01Research in Context
What this study did
The team asked parents of children with disabilities to fill out a 22-item form. The form is called the Children's Hand-Skills ability Questionnaire, or CHSQ.
They used Rasch math to check if the three skill areas really hang together. They also looked at how well the form scores match hands-on tests of hand use.
What they found
The three-level rating scale worked. Each of the three skill areas formed its own clean line from easy to hard.
Parent CHSQ scores lined up well with timed pegboard and drawing tests. The links were moderate to strong, so the form gives a fair picture of real hand skill.
How this fits with other research
Derks et al. (2017) also used Rasch ideas to shorten the SCQ for adults with ID. Both studies show that careful math can trim or keep items without losing meaning.
Koegel et al. (2014) warn that short screeners can mislabel severity. Chi-Wen’s team did not test severity levels, so follow-up tests are still needed before writing goals.
Diz et al. (2011) used a computer tool to time teen handwriting. Their direct speed test and the CHSQ parent form look at different angles of hand skill; together they give both speed numbers and daily-life ratings.
Why it matters
You now have a quick, free way to screen manual ability before you plan fine-motor goals. Give the 22-item CHSQ to parents during intake. If scores are low, add timed tasks like the pegboard to confirm needs and track progress. This saves table time and helps you justify OT referrals or adaptive equipment in one session.
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02At a glance
03Original abstract
The Children's Hand-Skill ability Questionnaire (CHSQ) is a new parent-report questionnaire that assesses children's manual ability in three domains: leisure and play, school/education, and activities of daily living. The CHSQ can be used with children presenting with a range of disabilities and works as a companion assessment before detailed performance-based observations of hand skill are completed. This study further investigated the internal and external construct validity of the CHSQ. Participants included 53 Australian children and 70 Taiwanese children with known disabilities ranging age from 2 to 12 years. Rasch analysis results confirmed the appropriateness of the CHSQ's 3-level rating scale in this combined group of children. Twenty-one of the 22 items in the CHSQ formed three individual unidimensional scales representing with the domains of leisure and play, school/education, and activities of daily living. The CHSQ also exhibited sufficient person-response validity (all the three domains) and item-difficulty range (all but one domain) when applied to children with disabilities. Less than half of the CHSQ items were found to exhibit differential item functioning with regards to gender (4 items) and cultural difference (7 items). In addition, moderate to high correlations (0.61 ≤ Pearson's r coefficients ≤ 0.76, p<0.01) were found with the assessments of self-care and hand skill performance. Therefore, the CHSQ exhibits preliminary evidence of construct validity for its clinical use in obtaining children's manual ability based on parent-report information.
Research in developmental disabilities, 2012 · doi:10.1016/j.ridd.2012.02.023