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Participation Measures for Infants and Toddlers Aged Birth to 23 Months: A Systematic Review
Chelsea A Mobbs1, Alicia J Spittle2,3, Leanne M Johnston1
1School of Health and Rehabilitation Sciences, The University of Queensland, Brisbane, Australia.
Insights
Measuring infant and toddler participation is challenging. This review identified few measures, with the Child Engagement in Daily Life (CEDL) measure showing the strongest psychometric properties for assessing attendance and involvement.
Area of Science:
- Pediatrics
- Developmental Psychology
- Rehabilitation Science
Background:
- Participation is a crucial health outcome for young children.
- Current understanding and measurement of participation in infants and toddlers (birth to 23 months) remain limited.
- The family of Participation-Related Constructs (fPRC) provides a framework for understanding participation.
Purpose of the Study:
- To identify and evaluate the psychometric properties of existing participation measures for infants and toddlers.
- To assess these measures against the fPRC, specifically 'attendance' and 'involvement'.
- To guide future research in developing robust participation assessment tools for this age group.
Main Methods:
- A systematic search of four electronic databases was conducted.
- Inclusion criteria focused on English-language measures quantifying 'attendance' and/or 'involvement' for children aged 0-23 months.
- Psychometric quality was assessed using the COSMIN checklist.
Main Results:
- Four measures met the inclusion criteria: CEDL, DAIS, ToP, and YC-PEM.
- All measures assessed 'attendance'; three also assessed 'involvement'.
- Psychometric properties ranged from unknown to moderate for validity and reliability, with the CEDL demonstrating the strongest evidence.
Conclusions:
- There is a scarcity of psychometrically sound participation measures for infants and toddlers.
- Further research is necessary to develop and validate measures that capture both 'attendance' and 'involvement' in this population.
- Improved measurement tools are essential for understanding and promoting child participation.
Aims:
Participation is a key health outcome; however little is known specifically about how to measure participation of infants and toddlers. The aim of this review was to identify and examine the psychometric properties of participation measures for infants and toddlers aged birth to 23 months according to family of Participation-Related Constructs (fPRC).
Methods:
Four electronic databases were searched to identify (i) measures available in English, (ii) that quantify at least one participation concept of 'attendance' and/or 'involvement' according to the fPRC, (iii) with psychometric data for infants or toddlers aged from birth to 23 months published in a full text, peer reviewed journal. Psychometric quality was examined using the COSMIN checklist.
Results:
Four measures met the inclusion criteria: Child Engagement in Daily Life (CEDL) measure, Daily Activities of Infants Scale (DAIS), Test of Playfulness (ToP), and Young Children's Participation and Environment Measure (YC-PEM). All measured 'attendance' and three also measured 'involvement'. Measures showed unknown to moderate validity and unknown to moderate reliability, with the CEDL reporting the strongest psychometric properties.
Conclusion:
There are few measures that evaluate infant and toddler participation. Further research is needed to develop psychometrically sound participation measures that evaluate 'attendance' and 'involvement' for this population.
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