Psychometric Testing of the Turkish School Setting Interview in Pediatric Neurodevelopmental Disorders

Area of Science:

• Pediatric Occupational Therapy
• Child Psychology
• Educational Psychology

Background:

• Neurodevelopmental disorders impact children's participation and success in school settings.
• The School Setting Interview (SSI) is a tool to assess student-environment fit.
• Validating the Turkish version of the SSI is crucial for its use in Turkey.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate the validity and reliability of the Turkish version of the School Setting Interview (SSI).
• To assess the SSI's suitability for children with neurodevelopmental disorders in Turkey.

Main Methods:

• A cross-sectional psychometric validation study involving 115 schoolchildren (ages 6-17) with specific learning disability or ADHD.
• Convergent validity was assessed using correlations with the School Function Assessment (SFA).
• Reliability was evaluated using Cronbach's alpha and item analysis; construct validity was tested by comparing scores between genders.

Main Results:

• The Turkish SSI demonstrated excellent convergent validity, with strong correlations to SFA participation, performance, and assistance scores (r=0.97, 0.97, 0.95).
• High internal consistency was observed (Cronbach's alpha=0.96), with all items contributing positively.
• No significant gender differences were found in SSI scores (p=0.17).

Conclusions:

• The Turkish SSI is a brief, reliable, and valid instrument for evaluating student-environment fit in children with neurodevelopmental disorders.
• It empowers educators and occupational therapists to identify environmental barriers.
• The SSI facilitates the design of targeted interventions to enhance academic participation and outcomes.