Validation of the LittlEARS® Questionnaire in Hearing Maltese-Speaking Children
Pauline Miggiani1, Frans Coninx2, Karolin Schaefer3
1Audiology Clinic, Mater Dei Hopsital, MSD 2090 Msida, Malta.
Objectives:
To adapt the LittlEARS® Auditory Questionnaire into the Maltese language and evaluate the psychometric properties of the Maltese version of the questionnaire for hearing children.
Methods:
The English version of LittlEARS® Auditory Questionnaire was adapted into Maltese using a translation/back translation procedure. In this cross-sectional study, a total of 398 parents of normal hearing children aged between 5 days and 36 months completed the Maltese version of LittlEARS®. Psychometric validation was performed through scale analysis, item analysis, and analysis of reliability and validity. A non-linear regression model was derived to obtain normative data for expected and minimum values of total scores from the questionnaire according to age.
Results:
Predictive accuracy (Guttman's lambda) was 0.921, the Cronbach's alpha coefficient value was 0.921, and the split-half reliability coefficient was 0.949. The Pearson correlation coefficient between scores and age was 0.903. The regression analysis showed that 82% of the variance in the total scores can be explained by age. Norm curves were comparable to the original German data.
Conclusion:
This study confirmed that the Maltese version of LittlEARS® is a valid and reliable tool to evaluate auditory development in children less than two years of age.
