Keywords
How to Cite
Abstract
Antecedents: In recent years, telepractice has become widespread as an intervention strategy in Early Childhood Intervention (ECI) services. However, studies supporting its use in this field remain scarce. Because reliable instruments are needed to evaluate the perceived quality, satisfaction and the acceptability of telepractice from the families’ perspective, the present study aims to report the psychometric properties of an ECI-specific instrument that includes a variety of social validity indicators that are also important and consistent with a family-centered approach. Method: This study, with a sample of 738 families, introduces an instrument aimed at evaluating the social validity of telepractice. The scale includes the main indicators of social validity: Usability, Effectiveness; Feasibility, Utility, intervention with natural caregivers, and Future Intentions. The study aims to report its psychometric properties through a split-sample method, conducting both exploratory and confirmatory factor analysis with randomly assigned sub-samples. Results: We found that all seven items fit into one factor measuring social validity of telepractice, with acceptable internal consistency and sensitive enough to capture differences between the type of service delivery families received. Conclusions: In addition, the proposed instrument provides relevant information for professionals to improve the quality of service-delivery in ECI.
References
References
Behl, D. D., Blaiser, K., Cook, G., Barrett, T., Callow-Heusser, C., Brooks, B. M., Dawson, P., Quigley, S., & White, K. R. (2017). A multisite study evaluating the benefits of early intervention via telepractice. Infants & Young Children, 30(2), 147-161. https://doi.org/10.1097/IYC.0000000000000090
Boisvert, M., Lang, R., Andrianopoulos, M., & Boscardin, M. L. (2010). Telepractice in the assessment and treatment of individuals with autism spectrum disorders: A systematic review. Developmental Neurorehabilitation, 13(6), 423-432. https://doi.org/10.3109/17518423.2010.499889.
Camden, C., & Silva, M. (2021). Pediatric teleheath: opportunities created by the COVID-19 and suggestions to sustain its use to support families of children with disabilities. Physical & Occupational Therapy in Pediatrics, 41(1), 1-17.
Cole, B., Pickard, K., & Stredler-Brown, A. (2019). Report on the use of telehealth in early intervention in Colorado: Strengths and challenges with telehealth as a service delivery method. International Journal of Telerehabilitation, 11(1), 33.
Dunst, C., & Hamby, D. (2017). Predictors of the social validity judgments of early childhood intervention performance checklists and practice guides. International Journal of Psychology and Educational Studies, 4(1), 13-20.
Dunst, C. J. (2017). Parents’ social validity appraisals of early childhood intervention practice guides. Journal of Educational and Developmental Psychology, 7(2), 51-58.
Elliott, S. N., & Treuting, M. V. B. (1991). The Behavior Intervention Rating Scale: Development and validation of a pretreatment acceptability and effectiveness measure. Journal of School Psychology, 29, 43–51.
Fisher, W. W., Luczynski, K. C., Hood, S. A., Lesser, A. D., Machado, M. A., & Piazza, C. C. (2014). Preliminary findings of a randomized clinical trial of a virtual-training program for applied behavior analysis technicians. Research in Autism Spectrum Disorders, 8(9), 1044– 1054. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.rasd.2014.05.002.
Fischer, A. J., Dart, E. H., Leblanc, H., Hartman, K. L., Steeves, R. O., & Gresham, F. M. (2016). An investigation of the acceptability of videoconferencing within a school-based behavioral consultation framework. Psychology in the Schools, 53(3), 240-252.
Fischer, A. J., Dart, E. H., Radley, K. C., Richardson, D., Clark, R., & Wimberly, J. (2017). An evaluation of the effectiveness and acceptability of teleconsultation. Journal of Educational and Psychological Consultation, 27(4), 437-458. https://doi.org/10.1080/10474412.2016.1235978
García-Alba, L., Postigo, Á., Gullo, F., Muñiz, J., & Del Valle, J. F. (2021). PLANEA Independent Life Skills Scale: Development and validation. Psicothema, 33(2), 268-279. https://doi.org/10.7334/psicothema2020.450
Gerrits, R. S., van der Zanden, R. A. P., Visscher, R. F. M., & Conijn, B. P. (2007). Master your mood online: A preventive chat group intervention for adolescents. Australian E-Journal for the Advancement of Mental Health, 6(3), 152–162. https://doi.org/10.5172/jamh.6.3.152.
Gregoski, M. J., Mueller, M., Vertegel, A., Shaporev, A., Jackson, B. B., Frenzel, R. M., Sprehn, S.M., & Treiber, F.A. (2012). Development and validation of a smartphone heart rate acquisition application for health promotion and wellness telehealth applications. International Journal of Telemedicine and Applications, 1-7. https://doi.org/10.1155/2012/696324.
Grogan-Johnson, S., Gabel, R. M., Taylor, J., Rowan, L. E., Alvares, R., & Schenker, J. (2011). A pilot exploration of speech sound disorder intervention delivered by telehealth to school-age children. International Journal of Telerehabilitation, 3(1), 31–42. https://doi.org/10.5195/ijt.2011.6064
Harman, H. H. (1976). Modern Factor Analysis. University of Chicago Press. Hernández, A., Hidalgo, M. D., Hambleton, R. K., & Gómez Benito, J. (2020). International test commission guidelines for test adaptation: A criterion checklist. Psicothema, 32(3), 390-398.
Hilty, D. M., Luo, J. S., Morache, C., Marcelo, D. A., & Nesbitt, T. S. (2002). Telepsychiatry: an overview for psychiatrists. CNS drugs, 16(8), 527-548. https://doi.org/10.2165/00023210-200216080-00003.
Hu, L., & Bentler, P. M. (1999). Cutoff criteria for fit indexes in covariance structure analysis: Conventional criteria versus new alternatives. Structural Equation Modeling: A Multidisciplinary Journal, 6(1), 1-55. http://doi.org/10.1080/10705519909540118
IBM Corp. (2019). IBM SPSS Statistics for Windows (Version 24.0) [Computer software].
Izquierdo, I., Olea, J., & Abad, F. J. (2014). Exploratory factor analysis in validation studies: uses and recommendations. Psicothema, 26(3), 395-401. http://doi.org/10.7334/psicothema2013.349
JASP Team (2021). JASP (Version 0.16)[Computer software].
Kaiser, H. F. (1974). An index of factorial simplicity. Psychometrika, 39(1), 31-36. https://psycnet.apa.org/doi/10.1007/BF02291575
Kazdin, A. E. (1977). Assessing the clinical or applied importance of behavior change through social validation. Behavior modification, 1(4), 427-452.
Kelley, M. L., Heffer, R. W., Gresham, F. M., & Elliott, S. N. (1989). Development of a modified treatment evaluation inventory. Journal of Psychopathology and Behavioral Assessment, 11, 235–247.
Langbecker, D., Caffery, L. J., Gillespie, N., & Smith, A. C. (2017). Using survey methods in telehealth research: A practical guide. Journal of Telemedicine and Telecare, 23(9), 770-779. https://doi.org/10.1177/1357633X17721814
Lee, J. D., Meadan, H., & Xia, Y. (2022). Impact of challenging behavior online modules on Korean parents of children with developmental disabilities: A Randomized Controlled Trial. Journal of Positive Behavior Interventions, 24(3), 222-235. https://doi.org/10.1177/10983007211071119
Lusting, T. (2012). The role of telehealth in an evolving health care environment: Workshop summary. National Academies Press.
Machalicek, W., O’Reilly, M. F., Rispoli, M., Davis, T., Lang, R., Franco, J. H., & Chan, J. M. (2010). Training teachers to assess the challenging behaviors of tudents with autism using video tele-conferencing. Education and Training in Autism and Developmental Disabilities, 45(2), 203-215.
Meadan, H., & Daczewitz, M. E. (2015). Internet-based intervention training for parents of young children with disabilities: A promising service-delivery model. Early child development and care, 185(1), 155-169.
Martínez-Rico, G., Cañadas, M., García-Grau, P., & Escorcia, C. (2021). La Atención Temprana en tiempos de Pandemia: La Teleintervención como apoyo a los profesionales y servicios. En A. Martos-Martínez, B. BarragánMartín, M.M. Molero-Jurado, M.M. Simón Márquez & J.J. GázquezLinares (Eds.), Avances de Investigación en Salud a lo largo del Ciclo Vital. Nuevas realidades. (pp. 109-121). Dykinson.
Muñiz, J., & Fonseca-Pedrero, E. (2019). Diez pasos para la construcción de un test. Psicothema, 31(1), 7-16. https://doi.org/10.7334/psicothema2018.291
Nicolson, A. C., Lazo-Pearson, J. F., & Shandy, J. (2020). ABA finding its heart during a pandemic: An exploration in social validity. Behavior Analysis in Practice, 13(4), 757-766.
Park, E. Y., & Blair, K. S. C. (2019). Social validity assessment in behavior interventions for young children: A systematic review. Topics in Early Childhood Special Education, 39(3), 156-169. http://doi.org/10.1177/0271121419860195
Pituch, K. A., & Stevens, J. P. (2015). Applied multivariate statistics for the social sciences: Analyses with SAS and IBM’s SPSS, Sixth Edition. Routledge.
Poole, M. E., Fettig, A., McKee, R. A., & Gauvreau, A. N. (2020). Inside the virtual visit: Using tele-intervention to support families in early intervention. Young Exceptional Children, 25(1), 3-14. http://doi.org/10.1177/1096250620948061
Prieto-Saborit, J. A., Méndez-Alonso, D., Ordóñez-Fernández, F., & Bahamonde, J. R. (2022). Validation of a Cooperative Learning Measurement Questionnaire from a teaching perspective. Psicothema, 34(1), 160–167. https://doi.org/10.7334/psicothema2021.126
R Core Team (2022). R: A language and environment for statistical computing. R Fundation for Statistical Computing, Vienna, Austria. URL https://www.R-project.org/.
Reese, R. J., Slone, N. C., Soares, N., & Sprang, R. (2015). Using telepsychology to provide a group parenting program: A preliminary evaluation of effectiveness. Psychological Services, 12(3), 274–282. https://doi.org/10.1037/ser0000018.
Reichow, B., Volkmar, F. R., & Cicchetti, D. V. (2008). Development of the evaluative method for evaluating and determining evidence-based practices in autism. Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders, 38(7), 1311-1319. http://doi.org/10.1007/s10803-007-0517-7
Reimers, T. M.,Wacker, D. P., & Cooper, L. J. (1991). Evaluation of the acceptability of treatments for their children’s behavioral difficulties: Ratings by parents receiving services in an outpatient clinic. Child & Family Behavior Therapy, 13(2), 53–71.
Schiariti, V., & McWilliam, R. A. (2021). Crisis brings innovative strategies: Collaborative empathic teleintervention for children with disabilities during the COVID-19 lockdown. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, 18(4), 1749. http://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph18041749
Sivaraman, M., & Fahmie, T. A. (2020). A systematic review of cultural adaptations in the global application of ABA-based telehealth services. Journal of Applied Behavior Analysis, 53(4), 1838-1855. https://doi.org/10.1002/jaba.763
Tabachnick, B. G., & Fidell, L. S. (2019). Using multivariate statistics (7ª ed.). Pearson.
Tarnowski, K. J., & Simonian, S. J. (1992). Assessing treatment acceptance: The Abbreviated Acceptability Rating Profile. Journal of Behavior Therapy and Experimental Psychiatry, 23(2), 101–106.
Tomlinson, S. R., Gore, N., & McGill, P. (2018). Training individuals to implement applied behavior analytic procedures via telehealth: A systematic review of the literature. Journal of Behavioral Education, 27(2), 172-222.
Turan, Y., & Meadan, H. (2011). Social validity assessment in early childhood special education. Young Exceptional Children, 14(3), 13-28. http://doi.org/10.1177/1096250611415812
Waterson, P., Griffiths, P., Stride, C., Murphy, J., & Hignett, S. (2010). Psychometric properties of the Hospital Survey on Patient Safety Culture: Findings from the UK. Quality and Safety in Health Care, 19(5), 1-5. http://doi.org/10.1136/qshc.2008.031625
Wolf, M. M. (1978). Social validity: the case for subjective measurement or how applied behavior analysis is finding its heart 1. Journal of applied behavior analysis, 11(2), 203-214.
Xie, Y., Dixon, J. F., Yee, O. M., Zhang, J., Chen, Y. A., DeAngelo, S., Yellowlees, P., Hendren, R., & Schweitzer, J.B. (2013). A study on the effectiveness of videoconferencing on teaching parent training skills to parents of children with ADHD. Telemedicine and E-Health, 19(3), 192–199. https://doi.org/10.1089/tmj.2012.0108.