జర్నల్ ఆఫ్ స్పీచ్ పాథాలజీ & థెరపీ

నైరూప్య

The German Communication Attitude Test for Preschool and Kindergarten Children Who Stutter (KiddyCAT-G): Reliability and First Reference Data

Sandra Neumann, Christian Rietz, Martine Vanryckeghem, Regina Tiefenthaller and Prisca Stenneken

Objective: To investigate reliability and describe reference data of the KiddyCAT-G, an authorized German adaptation of the ‘Communication Attitude Test for preschool and kindergarten children who stutter.

Method: Children (3.0-5.11 yrs) who do not stutter (CWNS; n=150) and children who stutter (CWS; n=30) completed the KiddyCAT-G. In order to determine test-retest reliability, the KiddyCAT-G was re-administered to a sub-sample of children (n=35; CWNS: n=15, CWS: n=20) one week later. Their parents completed a sociodemographic questionnaire.

Results: The KiddyCAT-G had moderate to high values of internal consistency for both groups (CWNS: α=0.61; CWS: α=0.79), as well as high test-retest-reliability (r=0.983, p<0.001). Group comparisons showed significantly higher mean scores for CWS (M=3.73, SD=2.92) than for CWNS (M=1.47, SD=1.65). In both groups, younger children (3.0–4.6 yrs) scored descriptively higher than older ones, a difference that was non-significant for the CWS, but significant for CWNS.

Conclusion: The internal consistency and test-retest-reliability of this assessment tool of communication attitude supports its use by SLPs for clinical and research purposes in German-speaking children. Data of 150 CWNS give first reference values.