Item development, internal consistency, and known-groups validity of the Self-Directed Mobility Scale

Area of Science:

• Rehabilitation Science
• Occupational Therapy
• Physical Therapy

Background:

• Self-directed mobility is crucial for children's participation.
• Understanding healthcare professionals' perspectives is key to advocating for mobility access.
• The Self-Directed Mobility Scale (SDMS) was developed to address this need.

Purpose of the Study:

• To describe the item development of the SDMS.
• To establish the internal consistency and known-groups validity of the SDMS.
• To assess views on self-directed mobility and advocacy intentions among pediatric therapists and students.

Main Methods:

• Expert panel (kinesiology, psychology, rehabilitation, disability studies) for item development.
• Four samples assessed: physical therapists (n=350), occupational therapists (n=89), kinesiology students (n=279), and health/wellness students (n=528).
• Internal consistency (Cronbach's alpha) and known-groups validity were analyzed.

Main Results:

• Internal consistency exceeded the acceptable level of 0.70 (range = 0.72-0.77) after removing two specific items.
• Known-groups validity was successfully established across all assessed samples.
• The scale demonstrated reliability and validity for the target populations.

Conclusions:

• The SDMS is a valid tool for evaluating perspectives on self-directed mobility and advocacy among pediatric therapists and students.
• Future research should verify internal consistency within specific study samples to ensure acceptable Cronbach's alpha.
• The SDMS can be utilized in rehabilitation research to assess factors influencing mobility technology provision for children with disabilities.