Development and initial validation of the Environmental Restriction Questionnaire (ERQ)

Area of Science:

• Pediatric occupational therapy
• Child development research
• Psychometrics

Background:

• Environmental factors significantly influence child participation.
• Accurate measurement of perceived environmental restrictions is crucial for intervention planning.
• Existing tools may not adequately capture these environmental influences for young children.

Purpose of the Study:

• To develop and validate the Environmental Restriction Questionnaire (ERQ).
• To assess the psychometric properties of the ERQ as a parent-reported measure.
• To evaluate the ERQ's reliability and validity in measuring perceived environmental restrictions for children's participation.

Main Methods:

• The study involved 290 children (ages 3y, 11mo to 6y, 10mo) and their parents.
• Psychometric properties were evaluated using Cronbach's alpha, inter-item correlations, factor analysis, known groups analysis, and correlations with the Children Participation Questionnaire (CPQ).
• Participants included children with moderate developmental disabilities and a control group without disabilities.

Main Results:

• The ERQ demonstrated good internal reliability (Cronbach's alpha .75–.91), indicating adequate homogeneity.
• Factor analysis identified three factors explaining 48% of the variance.
• Significant known group differences and supported convergent/divergent validity with the CPQ were observed.

Conclusions:

• The Environmental Restriction Questionnaire (ERQ) possesses strong psychometric properties.
• The ERQ is a reliable and valid instrument for assessing perceived environmental restrictions in children aged 4-6 years.
• This tool can aid occupational therapists and researchers in understanding environmental influences on child participation.