title: Psychometric properties of self-sufficiency assessment tools in adolescents in vocational education.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Self-sufficiency is the realisation of an acceptable level of functioning either by the person him/herself or through the adequate organisation of help from informal or formal care providers. Assessment of self-sufficiency for determining an individual's functional strengths and areas for improvement is increasingly being applied among adolescents in vocational education, a group considered vulnerable with high school dropout rates and often characterised by an accumulation of problems. This study examined the psychometric properties of two instruments, i.e. a self-report questionnaire assessing self-sufficiency and the Self-Sufficiency Matrix for professionals (SSM-D) conducted among adolescents in vocational education.
  
  
  METHODS
  The self-report questionnaire used to assess self-sufficiency was completed by 581 adolescents. Professionals completed the SSM-D for 224 of the 581 adolescents. Furthermore, constructs related to the domains of self-sufficiency were assessed with self-report questionnaires and information about school absenteeism was monitored via the school registration system.
  
  
  RESULTS
  For both self-report and professional-report ratings, the internal consistency was satisfactory (Cronbach'α > 0.70) and various minor to strong correlations were found between the domains of self-sufficiency and related constructs. For most of the domains, there was little or no agreement between professionals and adolescents.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Both the self-report questionnaire assessing self-sufficiency and the SSM-D applied in this study seem to possess adequate psychometric properties. The results indicated that adolescents and professionals provide different views of adolescents' self-sufficiency, which merits further study. In the meantime, we recommend assessment of adolescents' self-sufficiency by using both the self-report questionnaire and the SSM-D to get a comprehensive measure of adolescents' self-sufficiency.
  
  
  BACKGROUND
  Netherlands Trial Register: NTR3545 ; 30 July 2012.
authors.affiliation: Department of Public Health, Erasmus University Medical Center Rotterdam, P.O. Box 2040, 3000 CA, Rotterdam, The Netherlands. r.bannink@erasmusmc.nl.
authors.forename: Rienke
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Bannink
authors.affiliation: Department of Public Health, Erasmus University Medical Center Rotterdam, P.O. Box 2040, 3000 CA, Rotterdam, The Netherlands. s.broeren@erasmusmc.nl.
authors.forename: Suzanne
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Broeren
authors.affiliation: Municipality of Rotterdam, Librijesteeg 4, 3000 KS, Rotterdam, The Netherlands. jfp.heydelberg@rotterdam.nl.
authors.forename: Jurriën
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Heydelberg
authors.affiliation: Public Health Care for Youth, Westblaak 171, 3012 KJ, Rotterdam, The Netherlands. e.vant.klooster@cjgrijnmond.nl.
authors.forename: Els
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: van't Klooster
authors.affiliation: Department of Public Health, Erasmus University Medical Center Rotterdam, P.O. Box 2040, 3000 CA, Rotterdam, The Netherlands. h.raat@erasmusmc.nl.
authors.forename: Hein
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Raat
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D009426:Netherlands; D011569:Psychiatric Status Rating Scales / Q000592:standards; D000297:Psychology, Adolescent; D011594:Psychometrics; D020377:Self Efficacy; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D014829:Vocational Education; D055815:Young Adult