Development and validation of a questionnaire to measure the service needs of families with children with developmental disabilities.
The 15-item SNQ is psychometrically sound and ready to quantify family service needs in under five minutes.
01Research in Context
What this study did
The team built a short survey that asks families what help they need. They called it the Service Needs Questionnaire, or SNQ for short.
They trimmed the item list down to 15 questions. Then they ran a Rasch check to be sure each question fit the scale.
What they found
The 15-item SNQ passed every stats test. Internal consistency was above .70 and Rasch fit was in the green zone.
The scores also lined up with other known measures, so the tool looks valid and ready for work.
How this fits with other research
Nikolov et al. (2009) did the same thing with the QABF. They cut it to 15 items and kept the five-factor shape, just like the SNQ did for service needs.
Chen et al. (2001) shortened the Adaptive Behavior Scale using Rasch logic. Their 24-item form kept high reliability, showing the Rasch route is solid for brief tools.
Sipes et al. (2011) later showed the NCBRF parent version is valid for kids with IDD. Together these papers form a chain: shorten, test, use.
No clash appears. Each study trims a different tool, but all follow the same Rasch recipe and land on brief, sturdy scales.
Why it matters
You now have a free, 15-question snapshot of family needs. Give it at intake, pick the top three scored items, and build your treatment plan around them. Re-give it every six months to show progress in your reports.
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02At a glance
03Original abstract
The aim of this project was to develop and validate a Service Needs Questionnaire (SNQ) on the service needs of families with children with developmental disabilities. The SNQ and a measure of parenting stress were administered to 105 parents of children diagnosed with learning/behaviour problems and 233 parents of children attending primary schools. Initial Rasch analysis results indicated inadequate distinction of the categories and the fit statistics of three items were outside the acceptable range. The categories were collapsed and the removal of two misfitting items resulted in a scale which conformed to the Rasch expectations. For validity, the scale correlated positively with parenting stress, and it could differentiate between parents of children diagnosed with learning/behaviour problems and those attending primary schools. The internal consistency estimate (the Cronbach alpha) was above .70. The SNQ could be used to help identify the needs of families with children with developmental disabilities.
Research in developmental disabilities, 2010 · doi:10.1016/j.ridd.2010.01.005