Reliability, validity and developmental sensitivity of the Language Use Inventory (LUI) in the Chinese context.

Area of Science:

• Linguistics
• Developmental Psychology
• Clinical Psychology

Background:

• Pragmatics, the social use of language, is a key component of language ability.
• No existing tools assess early pragmatic development in Chinese-speaking children.

Purpose of the Study:

• Translate the Language Use Inventory (LUI) into Mandarin Chinese.
• Evaluate the reliability, validity, and developmental sensitivity of the LUI-Mandarin.

Main Methods:

• Translated the LUI into Mandarin Chinese.
• Administered the LUI-Mandarin to 177 typically developing (TD) children (aged 18-47 months) and 43 children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD).
• Assessed internal consistency, test-retest reliability, construct validity, developmental sensitivity, and discriminant validity.

Main Results:

• LUI-Mandarin demonstrated high internal consistency (Cronbach's alpha 0.707-0.992) and good to excellent test-retest reliability (0.66-0.95).
• Factor analysis explained 74.38% of variance, revealing two factors.
• Scores increased with age, indicating developmental sensitivity. Girls scored higher than boys at younger ages.
• Children with ASD performed significantly lower than TD children on most LUI-Mandarin scores.

Conclusions:

• The LUI-Mandarin is the first and only questionnaire in China for assessing pragmatic language skills in toddlers and preschoolers (18-47 months).
• The LUI-Mandarin is a valid and reliable tool for evaluating pragmatic language in Chinese children.
• It is suitable for both assessment and guiding intervention for young children's communicative competence.