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Construct validity and reliability of the Music Attentiveness Screening Assessment (MASA)
Eric G Waldon1, Emily Broadhurst2
1University of the Pacific University of the Pacific ewaldon@pacific.edu.
Journal of Music Therapy
|July 12, 2014
Summary
The Music Attentiveness Screening Assessment (MASA) shows promise in measuring children's auditory attention for music distraction during medical procedures. However, further revisions are needed to improve its reliability and validity.
Area of Science:
- Pediatric Psychology
- Music Therapy
- Child Development
Background:
- Music as alternate engagement (MAE) is effective for distracting children during medical procedures.
- Assessing a child's ability to attend to music is crucial for MAE success.
Purpose of the Study:
- Establish construct validity of the Music Attentiveness Screening Assessment (MASA) for measuring auditory attention.
- Evaluate MASA's test-retest and inter-observer reliability.
Main Methods:
- Administered the Auditory Attention (AA) subtest of NEPSY-II and MASA to 50 children aged 5-9.
- Analyzed shared variance between AA and MASA scores.
Main Results:
- MASA scores significantly correlated with auditory attention (R² = .21, p = .004).
- Test-retest reliability was moderate to high (r = .63–.84).
- Inter-observer agreement was high for Item I (ICC = .95) but lower for Item II (ICC = .71).
Conclusions:
- MASA demonstrates partial measurement of auditory attention.
- Significant unexplained variance and differing reliability between MASA items necessitate revisions.
- Further research and MASA refinement are recommended.
