Assessment & Research

Factor validity and reliability of the aberrant behavior checklist-community (ABC-C) in an Indian population with intellectual disability.

Lehotkay et al. (2015) · Journal of intellectual disability research : JIDR 2015
★ The Verdict

The Telugu ABC-C works well for Indian adults with ID.

✓ Read this if BCBAs who assess Telugu-speaking adults with intellectual disability.
✗ Skip if Clinicians who only work with English speakers or young children.

01Research in Context

01

What this study did

Cox et al. (2015) translated the Aberrant Behavior Checklist-Community into Telugu.

They gave the new form to caregivers of Indian adults with intellectual disability.

The team ran a confirmatory factor analysis and checked reliability three ways.

02

What they found

The five-factor structure held up in the Indian sample.

Internal consistency, test-retest, and inter-rater reliability were all good.

The Telugu ABC-C is ready for clinical use.

The study found positive results.

03

How this fits with other research

Sappok et al. (2017) did the same kind of check on the Social Communication Questionnaire in adults with ID.

Both studies used confirmatory factor analysis and found the original factor structure still fits.

McIntyre et al. (2017) also translated a Western scale into an Asian language and got similar reliability numbers.

Goodwin et al. (2012) remind us that questionnaires like the QABF are helpful but should not replace direct observation.

04

Why it matters

If you serve Telugu-speaking adults with ID, you now have a valid behavior checklist.

Use it to track irritability, lethargy, stereotypy, hyperactivity, and inappropriate speech.

Pair it with a functional tool like the QABF to get both topography and function.

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Print the Telugu ABC-C and give it to one caregiver this week.

02At a glance

Intervention
not applicable
Design
other
Sample size
120
Population
intellectual disability
Finding
positive

03Original abstract

BACKGROUND: In this study realised in collaboration with the department of psychology and parapsychology of Andhra University, validation of the Aberrant Behavior Checklist-Community (ABC-C) in Telugu, the official language of Andhra Pradesh, one of India's 28 states, was carried out. METHODS: To assess the factor validity and reliability of this Telugu version, 120 participants with moderate to profound intellectual disability (94 men and 26 women, mean age 25.2, SD 7.1) were rated by the staff of the Lebenshilfe Institution for Mentally Handicapped in Visakhapatnam, Andhra Pradesh, India. Rating data were analysed with a confirmatory factor analysis. The internal consistency was estimated by Cronbach's alpha. To confirm the test-retest reliability, 50 participants were rated twice with an interval of 4 weeks, and 50 were rated by pairs of raters to assess inter-rater reliability. RESULTS: Confirmatory factor analysis revealed that the root mean square error of approximation (RMSEA) was equal to 0.06, the comparative fit index (CFI) was equal to 0.77, and the Tucker Lewis index (TLI) was equal to 0.77, which indicated that the model with five correlated factors had a good fit. Coefficient alpha ranged from 0.85 to 0.92 across the five subscales. Spearman's rank correlation coefficients for inter-rater reliability tests ranged from 0.65 to 0.75, and the correlations for test-retest reliability ranged from 0.58 to 0.76. All reliability coefficients were statistically significant (P < 0.01). CONCLUSION: The factor validity and reliability of Telugu version of the ABC-C evidenced factor validity and reliability comparable to the original English version and appears to be useful for assessing behaviour disorders in Indian people with intellectual disabilities.

Journal of intellectual disability research : JIDR, 2015 · doi:10.1111/jir.12128