Child engagement in daily life measure V2: validation of psychometric properties for children with cerebral palsy

Abstract

Purpose

Measurement development is a reiterative process requiring refinements and revalidation. The purpose of this study was to examine structural validity and reliability of the Child Engagement in Daily Life Measure (Version 2) for parents of children with cerebral palsy (CP) across a broader age span.

Methods

Participants were 1054 parents of children with CP 1.5–11 years of age. Parents completed the Child Engagement in Daily Life measure that consists of the Participation in Family and Recreational Activities domain (11 items) and the Performance of Self-care Activities domain (18 items) as part of two longitudinal studies related to outcomes for children with CP.

Results

Rasch analysis indicated acceptable fit of items, stable item calibration, and logical ordering of items by difficulty for both frequency of participation in family and recreational activities and performance of self-care activities. Test–retest reliability was good to excellent: ICC = 0.78 for frequency of participation, ICC = 0.68 for enjoyment of participation, and ICC = 0.97 for self-care.

Conclusions

Evidence supports reliability and validity of the Child Engagement in Daily Life Measure (Version 2) for parent-report of their children’s participation in family and recreational activities and performance of self-care activities for children with CP 1.5–12 years of age.

IMPLICATIONS FOR REHABILITATION

• Participation in family and recreational activities and performance of self-care activities of children with cerebral palsy can be assessed using the concise parent-report Child Engagement in Daily Life Measure V2.

• Knowledge of the continuum of difficulty of the frequency of participation in family and recreational activities and performance of self-care activities can assist practitioners in progressing service plans.

• Practitioners are encouraged to use the measure to guide discussions with parents and children on areas to focus services to support participation in family and recreational activities and performance of self-care activities.

Keywords:

• Cerebral palsy
• participation
• self-care
• measurement
• validity
• reliability

Acknowledgments

The statements presented in this work are solely the responsibility of the authors and do not necessarily represent the views of the Patient-Centered Outcomes Research Institute (PCORI), its Board of Governors or Methodology Committee. We acknowledge the Move and PLAY and On Track study teams, participating sites, children, and their families.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Additional information

Funding

This research was supported by Canadian Institutes of Health Research [MOP-81107 & MOP-119276], U.S. Department of Education, National Institute of Disability and Rehabilitation Research, [H133G060254] and Patient-Centered Outcomes Research Institute [CE-12-11-5321].