title: The Chinese version of the Child and Adolescent Scale of Environment (CASE-C): validity and reliability for children with disabilities in Taiwan.
abstract: Measurement of children's participation and environmental factors is a key component of the assessment in the new Disability Evaluation System (DES) in Taiwan. The Child and Adolescent Scale of Environment (CASE) was translated into Traditional Chinese (CASE-C) and used for assessing environmental factors affecting the participation of children and youth with disabilities in the DES. The aim of this study was to validate the CASE-C. Participants were 614 children and youth aged 6.0-17.9 years with disabilities, with the largest condition group comprised of children with intellectual disability (61%). Internal structure, internal consistency, test-retest reliability, convergent validity, and discriminant (known group) validity were examined using exploratory factor analyses, Cronbach's α coefficient, intra-class correlation coefficients (ICC), correlation analyses, and univariate ANOVAs. A three-factor structure (Family/Community Resources, Assistance/Attitude Supports, and Physical Design Access) of the CASE-C was produced with 38% variance explained. The CASE-C had adequate internal consistency (Cronbach's α=.74-.86) and test-retest reliability (ICCs=.73-.90). Children and youth with disabilities who had higher levels of severity of impairment encountered more environmental barriers and those experiencing more environmental problems also had greater restrictions in participation. The CASE-C scores were found to distinguish children on the basis of disability condition and impairment severity, but not on the basis of age or sex. The CASE-C is valid for assessing environmental problems experienced by children and youth with disabilities in Taiwan.
authors.affiliation: Graduate Institute of Early Intervention, College of Medicine, Chang Gung University, Tao-Yuan, Taiwan.
authors.forename: Lin-Ju
authors.initials: LJ
authors.lastname: Kang
authors.affiliation: Department of Public Health, Tzu Chi University, Hualien, Taiwan.
authors.forename: Chia-Feng
authors.initials: CF
authors.lastname: Yen
authors.affiliation: Department of Occupational Therapy, Tufts University, Medford, MA, United States.
authors.forename: Gary
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Bedell
authors.affiliation: School Psychology, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, NC, United States; School of Learning & Communication, Jönköping University, Jönköping, Sweden.
authors.forename: Rune J
authors.initials: RJ
authors.lastname: Simeonsson
authors.affiliation: Graduate Institute of Injury Prevention and Control, Taipei Medical University, Taipei, Taiwan; Department of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation, Shuang Ho Hospital, Taipei Medical University, Taipei, Taiwan.
authors.forename: Tsan-Hon
authors.initials: TH
authors.lastname: Liou
authors.affiliation: Department of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation, Shuang Ho Hospital, Taipei Medical University, Taipei, Taiwan.
authors.forename: Wen-Chou
authors.initials: WC
authors.lastname: Chi
authors.affiliation: Center for Teacher Education and Career Guidance, University of Taipei, Taipei, Taiwan.
authors.forename: Shu-Wen
authors.initials: SW
authors.lastname: Liu
authors.affiliation: The School and Graduate Institute of Physical Therapy, College of Medicine, National Taiwan University, Taipei, Taiwan. Electronic address: hfliao@ntu.edu.tw.
authors.forename: Hua-Fang
authors.initials: HF
authors.lastname: Liao
authors.affiliation: Graduate Institute of Early Intervention, College of Medicine, Chang Gung University, Tao-Yuan, Taiwan. Electronic address: awhwang@mail.cgu.edu.tw.
authors.forename: Ai-Wen
authors.initials: AW
authors.lastname: Hwang
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D002648:Child; D002659:Child Development Disorders, Pervasive; D004185:Disability Evaluation; D019988:Children with Disabilities; D004777:Environment; D005163:Factor Analysis, Statistical; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008607:Intellectual Disability; D008297:Male; D015203:Reproducibility of Results; D012720:Severity of Illness Index; D012931:Social Environment; D058992:Social Participation; D013624:Taiwan; D014177:Translations
keywords: Children; Disability; Environment; ICF-CY; Participation; Youth