Investigating the psychometric properties of a screening instrument for young children is necessary to ascertain its quality and accuracy. In light of the important role culture plays on human beliefs and parenting styles, a newly translated and adapted test needs to be studied. Evaluating outcomes on a translated version of a test may reveal significant information related to cultural specifications as well as the common nature of child development. The current study examined psychometric properties of the 48-month interval of the Ages and Stages Questionnaires: Social-Emotional Second Edition (ASQ:SE-2) and its Traditional Chinese version (ASQ:SE-TC), using item response theory (IRT). Participants in the U.S. included 3,005 young children/parents dyads; 1,455 dyads were collected to represent a Taiwanese sample. A two-dimensional Rasch Partial Credit Model (2D-RPCM), which was determined to present a better fit than a unidimensional Rasch Partial Credit Model, was used to examine the item fit, item difficulty, reliability, and item information curves to evaluate the psychometric properties on the ASQ:SE and ASQ:SE-TC. Further, differential item functioning was conducted to examine whether items were functioning differently in the two population groups. Lastly, the differences between the distributions of children’s latent traits on the continuum of social and emotional competencies for the U.S. and Taiwanese samples were investigated. Based on findings, the adequacy of psychometric properties is discussed, providing insight into the quality of particular items. Identified differences between the two populations are explored by reviewing literature regarding cultural comparisons of childrearing practices, parenting styles, and cultural beliefs. Future directions for research include examining the cultural equivalence between translated and original versions of other ASQ:SE-2 intervals.

Accumulative family risk factors can have a detrimental impact on young children's social emotional development and future school readiness. Identifying family risk and resilience factors can be a first step in linking families to needed services. Programs that serve families and children need a brief and valid screening tool that can quickly assess family strengths and needs. This study examined the validity and utility of the Environmental Screening Questionnaire (ESQ), a brief caregiver report of the family's situation. Participants included 324 parent/child (ages 3-60 months) dyads from a sample of programs that serve at-risk families (n = 72) and an online sample of caregivers (n = 252). Results from data analyses evaluating the validity and utility were promising. Validity was investigated by examining convergent validity using the Parenting Stress Index-Short Form. Caregivers from the online sample who had more family risk factors, as identified in the ESQ, were more likely to have elevated levels of stress (r = .23). Moreover, children from families with increased risk factors tended to have higher scores on the Ages and Stages Questionnaire: Social Emotional (ASQ:SE) for two age intervals, 6 and 48 months, for the online sample. Utility data were gathered from caregivers and program staff. Results suggest the ESQ is an effective and useful screening measure that can help professionals identify areas of resource need, organize referral information, and monitor family outcomes. Caregivers found the ESQ to be helpful in understanding personal areas of risk and how risk and resilience factors can affect children's social emotional development. This study assisted in developing preliminary "red flag" risk factors that may be useful to programs serving families and children. Testing of the "red flags" is discussed for future research. / 10000-01-01

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