Factor structure of the Serbian version of the Children's Communication Checklist-2.
Serbian CCC-2 users should score the three local factors, not the original sub-scales.
01Research in Context
What this study did
Nenad and colleagues translated the Children’s Communication Checklist-2 into Serbian. They asked parents of typically developing children to fill it out. Then they ran a factor analysis to see which items clump together naturally.
What they found
Three clear factors showed up: General Communication, Pragmatics, and Structural Language. These three factors explained about 29 % of the total variance. The original English sub-scales did not hold together in Serbian.
How this fits with other research
Lee et al. (2023) tried the same trick with the Theory of Mind Inventory-2. They also used factor analysis on parents of typical kids. Their result was negative: no clean factors appeared.
The difference is timing. Glumbić et al. (2012) found a workable three-factor fix, while Lee et al. (2023) did not. Both papers warn the same thing: do not trust the published sub-scores until local data backs them up.
Lawer et al. (2009) and Ortega (1978) sit in the same assessment-research corner, but they deal with graphing and stats, not checklists. They remind us that good measurement tools need both solid structure and clear visuals.
Why it matters
If you use the Serbian CCC-2, ignore the original sub-scales. Use the three derived factors instead. The same lesson applies to any translated checklist: run a quick factor check before you treat the manual’s sub-scores as real. It saves you from chasing phantom deficits and keeps your intervention plans grounded.
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02At a glance
03Original abstract
Keeping in mind that traditional tests were largely insensitive to pragmatic impairment, Bishop (2003) created a second version of the Children's Communication Checklist (CCC-2) in order to identify pragmatic deficits in children with communication problems. Unfortunately, it was revealed that certain subscales of the Serbian version of the CCC-2 have unacceptably low internal consistency. Because dividing the test into original subscales did not apply for the Serbian population, the aim of this paper was to determine the factor structure of the CCC-2. The sample consisted of 1344 typically developing, monolingual participants of both sexes, aged from 4 to 17 (M = 9.52; SD = 2.72). Participants were recruited from three statistical regions in Serbia. All participants attended regular kindergarten, elementary or secondary schools. CCC-2 factor analysis was determined by using the principal component method, with Varimax rotation of principal axes. A factor analysis showed that the CCC-2 had three factors (General Communication Ability, Pragmatics and Structural Language Aspects), which accounted for 29.39% of the total variance. A three-factor solution should be further confirmed in the course of a clinical validation of the CCC-2.
Research in developmental disabilities, 2012 · doi:10.1016/j.ridd.2012.03.010