Assessment of Adaptive Behavior in People with Autism Spectrum Disorders through the ICAP
Luisa Losada-Puente1, Manoel Baña2
1Department of Methods of Research and Diagnosis in Education, Faculty of Educational Sciences, University of A Coruña, 15071 A Coruña, Spain.
Behavioral Sciences (Basel, Switzerland)
|September 22, 2022
Summary
This study refined the Inventory for Service Planning and Individual Programming (ICAP) for assessing adaptive behavior in children with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD). The revised tool features 60 items across three key dimensions: daily life, communication, and motor skills.
Area of Science:
- Psychology
- Neurodevelopmental Disorders
- Psychometrics
Background:
- Assessing adaptive behavior in Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) is crucial for diagnosis and intervention.
- Standardized, reliable instruments are needed to evaluate the cognitive and social deficits characteristic of ASD.
- The Inventory for Service Planning and Individual Programming (ICAP) is an established tool for this purpose.
Purpose of the Study:
- To analyze the psychometric properties of the ICAP for assessing adaptive behavior in children with ASD.
- To refine the ICAP's structure for improved statistical reliability and diagnostic utility.
- To provide evidence supporting the use of a validated instrument for ASD assessment.
Main Methods:
- The ICAP was administered to 209 children diagnosed with ASD.
- Exploratory factor analysis was employed to examine the instrument's structure.
- Internal consistency (Cronbach's alpha) was calculated for the identified dimensions.
Main Results:
- The ICAP's original structure was modified, reducing items from 77 to 60.
- Items with low discriminative power were removed.
- The instrument's dimensions were reduced from four to three: daily life skills, communication and linguistic skills, and motor skills.
- High internal consistency was found for all three dimensions (α = 0.828–0.935).
Conclusions:
- The revised ICAP demonstrates strong psychometric properties for assessing adaptive behavior in children with ASD.
- The three-dimensional structure (daily life, communication, motor skills) offers a more congruent and reliable assessment.
- Further research is warranted on instrument dimensionality and item interactions in psychological and health sciences.
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