Construct Validity and Test-Retest Reliability of the Coping Inventory (CI) for Children With Developmental Disabilities

Kassia S Beetham; Anita C Bundy; Shirley Wyver; Jo Ragen; Michelle Villeneuve; Paul Tranter; Geraldine Naughton

doi:10.5014/ajot.2019.029561

Construct Validity and Test-Retest Reliability of the Coping Inventory (CI) for Children With Developmental Disabilities

Am J Occup Ther. 2019 Jul/Aug;73(4):7304205100p1-7304205100p10. doi: 10.5014/ajot.2019.029561.

Authors

Kassia S Beetham¹, Anita C Bundy², Shirley Wyver³, Jo Ragen⁴, Michelle Villeneuve⁵, Paul Tranter⁶, Geraldine Naughton⁷

Affiliations

¹ Kassia S. Beetham, PhD, is Lecturer, School of Behavioural and Health Sciences, Australian Catholic University, Brisbane, Queensland, Australia. At the time of the study, she was Research Associate, Faculty of Health Sciences, The University of Sydney, Sydney, New South Wales, Australia.
² Anita C. Bundy, ScD, is Professor and Department Head, Occupational Therapy, Colorado State University, Fort Collins, and Honorary Professor, Faculty of Health Sciences, The University of Sydney, Sydney, New South Wales, Australia; anita.bundy@colostate.edu.
³ Shirley Wyver, PhD, is Senior Lecturer, Department of Educational Studies, Macquarie University, Sydney, New South Wales, Australia.
⁴ Jo Ragen, MM, is PhD Candidate, Faculty of Health Sciences, The University of Sydney, Sydney, New South Wales, Australia.
⁵ Michelle Villeneuve, PhD, is Senior Lecturer, Faculty of Health Sciences, The University of Sydney, Sydney, New South Wales, Australia.
⁶ Paul Tranter, PhD, is Honorary Associate Professor, School of Science, University of New South Wales, Canberra, Australian Capital Territory, Australia.
⁷ Geraldine Naughton, PhD, is Honorary Professor, Department of Educational Studies, Macquarie University, Sydney, New South Wales, Australia.

PMID: 31318674
DOI: 10.5014/ajot.2019.029561

Abstract

Objective: A reliable, valid, and readily usable method of measuring coping is essential for occupational therapy practitioners and researchers working with children with developmental disabilities. The aim of this study was to examine evidence for the construct validity and internal and test-retest reliability of the Coping Inventory (CI), a 48-item survey designed for use with children.

Method: School staff (N = 39) completed CIs for 79 students with developmental disabilities age 5-13 yr (mean = 8.0, standard deviation = 2.0) who were primarily boys (n = 52; 68%) with autism spectrum disorder (n = 40 of 47 diagnoses provided). We used Rasch analysis to examine construct validity, internal reliability, and possible redundancy of items and intraclass correlations, Pearson correlations, Bland-Altman plots, and t tests were used to examine test-retest reliability.

Results: Rasch analysis provided evidence of construct validity: All items correlated positively with the overall measure; data from 94% of items conformed with Rasch expectations, and the items form a logical hierarchy. Intraclass correlations revealed an average coefficient of .96, providing evidence of test-retest reliability.

Conclusion: The CI demonstrated good evidence for construct validity and internal and test-retest reliability. Redundancy of items suggests that some items could be eliminated after further research.

MeSH terms

Adaptation, Psychological / physiology
Autism Spectrum Disorder*
Child
Developmental Disabilities*
Humans
Male
Reproducibility of Results
Surveys and Questionnaires