Development and initial validation of the Environmental Restriction Questionnaire (ERQ).
The ERQ is a ready-to-use parent form that spots environmental barriers limiting 4- to 6-year-olds’ participation.
01Research in Context
What this study did
Rosenberg et al. (2010) built a new parent form called the Environmental Restriction Questionnaire (ERQ).
Parents of 4- to 6-year-olds with and without delays answered 24 items about barriers at home, school, and in the community.
The team ran stats to see if the scores were reliable and if the items grouped into clear themes.
What they found
The ERQ showed strong internal consistency and a tidy three-factor structure: physical, social, and policy barriers.
Scores lined up as expected with other measures, giving early evidence the tool is valid for preschoolers.
How this fits with other research
Bart et al. (2010) released the Performance Skills Questionnaire the same year. Both forms are parent checklists for preschoolers, but ERQ pinpoints environmental blocks while PSQ captures the child’s daily skills. Using them together gives a fuller picture.
Wieckowski et al. (2024) stretched the M-CHAT downward to 4- to 8-year-olds, yet their tool is still in the concept stage. ERQ already has initial psychometrics, so you can adopt it now while waiting for M-CHAT-S validation.
McQuaid et al. (2024) showed SRS scores stay fairly stable from preschool to school age. Their work reminds us to re-give the ERQ later if you want to see whether removed barriers actually boost participation over time.
Why it matters
You now have a brief, free tool that flags what is stopping a child from joining in. Pair the ERQ with a skill measure like PSQ to see whether the barrier is the setting or the learner. If the ERQ points to heavy social barriers, target peer training first; if physical barriers top the list, rearrange furniture or add visuals before teaching new responses. Re-screen after each environmental tweak to prove your accommodation worked.
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02At a glance
03Original abstract
The purpose of this manuscript was to develop and test the psychometric properties of the Environmental Restriction Questionnaire (ERQ) a parent-reported questionnaire for measuring perceived environmental restrictions for young children participation. Reliability and homogeneity were tested by Cronbach's alpha and inter-item correlations. Construct validity was computed by factor analysis and known group differences analysis. Convergent and divergent validities were calculated by correlation with the Children Participation Questionnaire (CPQ). Participants were 290 children and their parent. Seventy-five children who were referred to occupational therapy evaluation as consequence of moderate developmental disabilities and 215 children without any disability (mean age ± standard deviation for total sample, 5 y, 3 mo ± .65 y; range, 3 y, 11 mo to 6 y, 10 mo). The ERQ has good internal reliability. Cronbach's alpha for the ERQ measures ranged between .75 and .91, indicating adequate homogeneity. Factor analysis yielded three factors that explained almost 48% of the total variance. Significant differences were found between known groups. Convergent and divergent validity were supported by various correlations with the Children Participation Questionnaire (CPQ). The ERQ has demonstrated good psychometric properties and can be used as a reliable and valid measure to assess perceived environmental restriction at the age of 4-6 y.
Research in developmental disabilities, 2010 · doi:10.1016/j.ridd.2010.07.009