Spanish version of the Child and Adolescent Self-Care Performance Questionnaire: psychometric testing

This methodological study sought to determine the psychometric properties of the Spanish version of the Child and Adolescent Self-Care Performance Questionnaire originally developed by Moore (1995). In this study, the questionnaire, written originally in English, was translated into Spanish, and some items were adapted for the Latin American culture. The instrument was administered to 536 children of moderate socioeconomic status, ages 10 to 15 years, living in Chile. Evidence for reliability and validity involved examining Coefficient Alpha for the total scale and each of the subscales, item analysis, and factor analysis with varimax rotation. Coefficient alpha for the total scale (35 items) was 0.82, similar to the reliability reported by Moore (1995) for the original instrument. Factor analysis supported eight factors. Use of the instrument in Central and South America may assist in determining self-care practices of Latin American children and the effect of interventions to improve such practices.