RELIABILITY AND VALIDITY OF THE TURKISH VERSION OF ECI-4 PARENT SCALE

Objective:

The aim of this study was to evaluate the reliability and validity of the Turkish version of ECl- 4 parent scale.

Method:

309 children between ages 3-6 years were assessed according to DSM-IV diagnostic criteria and the caregivers were requested to answer the ECl-4 parent scale. We calculated validity measurement of our study comparing screening tests with the psychiatric interview as the gold standard. The validity of the diagnosis, which was acquired according to the recommended method in the original form, was evaluated by the analyses of specificity and sensitivity measures. Also by using the symptom severity score with the help of receiver operating characteristics curves (ROC), the cut-off points for clinical diagnosis were determined.

Results:

ECl-4 parent scale’s internal consistency (Cronbach alpha) was calculated as 0.93, and for each diagnostic group, it was found as 0.70 and higher than 0.70 in attention deficit and disruptive behavior disorders, separation anxiety disorder (SAD), sleep problems, post traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and pervasive developmental disorder (PDD). In item-internal consistency evaluation, except for some items for major depressive disorder and reactive attachment disorder (RAD), all correlations was found 0.40 and higher than 0.40. In this sense the ECl-4 parent scale appears to be reliable for attention deficit and disruptive behavior disorders, SAD, sleep problems, PTSD and PDD. According to the symptom count scores the validity was assessed and the ECl-4 parent scale’s sensitivity and specificity was found to be high for attention deficit hyperactivity disorder-hyperactivity subgroup (ADHD-H), conduct disorder (CD), RAD, PTSD, Tourette’s disorder (TD) and chronic tic disorder. As a result of ROC curve, the ECl-4 parent scale was found to be valid for ADHD-H, ADHD- Combined, CD, SAD, PTSD and TD.

Discussion:

The result of this study demonstrated that the Turkish version of ECl-4 parent scale is a reliable and valid screening instrument to evaluate the prevalent psychiatric disorders.