Psychometric properties of the Polish version of the Children’s Auditory Performance Scale

Abstract

Introduction and objectives. The key element of the diagnostics of Auditory Processing Disorder (APD) is assessment of peripheral hearing and higher auditory functions, supplemented by information from clinical history-taking. Also, specialist questionnaires play an important role. The aim of the study was presentation of the psychometric properties of the Polish version of the Children's Auditory Performance Scale (CHAPS), and verification of the usefulness of this questionnaire in the diagnostics of auditory processing disorders. Materials and method. The study included 176 parents of children aged between 7-12 years. The CHAPS questionnaire consists of 36 items divided into 6 categories (subscales), referring to various auditory behaviours. The respondent's task was to specify the way of functioning of children, compared to their contemporaries; the higher the result, the better the auditory skills. The Scale of Auditory Behaviors (SAB) was applied, and psychoacoustic behavioural tests were performed. Results. Reliability of measurements was found to be good, Cronbach's alpha coefficient (0.97) showed a high internal consistency of the scale. Statistically significant, positive correlations were observed between the total score and subscales (0.58-0.7). Intra-class correlation, which was used to determine reproducibility, was 0. 84. Correlations with the results of psychoacoustic tests were low (0.2-0.3), and with Scale of Auditory Behaviors-0.62. Statistically significant differences between girls and boys were found in the total score; however, no statistically significant relationship was noted between the child's age and the CHAPS results. Conclusions. Results of psychometric and statistical analyses suggest that the Polish version of the Children's Auditory Performance Scale enables a reliable measurement of hearing and understanding difficulties in children. The questionnaire may be useful in the diagnostics of auditory performance disorders.

Preliminary Validation of the Children’s Auditory Performance Scale (CHAPS) and the Auditory Processing Domain Questionnaire (APDQ) in Greek Cypriot Children

“…Our results indicated that the CHAPS can be used to distinguish auditory processing characteristics between TD children and children with SSDs: children in our SSD group had lower scores in the total scores in all subdomains of the CHAPS. Our findings further corroborate previous reports [ 28 , 32 , 34 , 35 ].…”

“…The CHAPS can distinguish between typical and clinical populations as it successfully differentiated children with suspected APD [ 34 ] from typically developing children of similar age to our study [ 35 ]. It was also effective in distinguishing children with listening difficulties from typically developing children in the older age range of 7–12 years [ 28 ]. Additionally, the CHAPS identified listening difficulties in children diagnosed with ADHD [ 35 ].…”

“…The CHAPS questionnaire collects caregivers’ and teachers’ feedback on children’s hearing difficulties at home and in academic settings [ 18 , 28 ]. The CHAPS includes thirty-six questions divided into six subscales: (1) perception in noise; (2) perception in quiet; (3) perception in ideal (one-on-one) situations; (4) perception with multiple inputs; (5) memory; and (6) attention.…”

Auditory performance and language skills in children with auditory brainstem implants and cochlear implants

“…In this study, not the average scores, but the total score of each section and the scale's total score were analyzed statistically. The studies with the CHAPS in different languages are examined, it is emphasized that the current scale is a safe and appropriate tool for measuring hearing performance [3,4,9,23]. Based on that there are no studies evaluating children with ABI and CI.…”

“…To the authors' best knowledge, there are no studies investigating language skills with the "Children's Auditory Performance Scale (CHAPS)" in children with ABI in the same study. The CHAPS is generally addressed in the evaluation of central auditory processing disorder and validity-reliability studies [3,4,9,23].…”