Validation of the Persian version of the LittlEARS® Auditory Questionnaire for assessment of auditory development in children with normal hearing

Objectives: To adapt LittlEARS® Auditory Questionnaire into Persian and evaluate the psychometric properties of the Persian version of the questionnaire in children with normal hearing.Methods: A back-translation method was used to translate and adapt the LittlEARS Auditory Questionnaire into Persian. The translated version was first evaluated by means of an expert-appraisal method. After having improved the Persian version of LittlEARs with the results obtained from that evaluation, various psychometric analyses was carried out to determine validity and reliability. A group of .43 Persian speaking parents of children below .4 months of age with normal hearing completed the LittlEARS® Auditory Questionnaire. Various psychometric analyses (scale analysis and item analysis) were conducted.Results: In the current study, the following scale and item characteristics were investigated: Corrected item-total correlations ranged from 3234 to 3204; Cronbach’s alpha coefficient value was 32903; split-half reliability r was 32014; predictive accuracy Guttman’s lambda was 32902; correlation between overall score and age of the children was 32030 (p<32333). The regression curve, which reflects the age-dependence of auditory behavior, was produced. The regression analysis conducted to obtain normative data showed that 038 of the variance in the total scores can be explained by age.Conclusion: The data obtained from psychometric analysis support the use of the Persian version of the LittlEARS Auditory Questionnaire as a reliable and valid tool to assess the development of auditory behavior in Persian speaking children who are .4 months old or younger.

کلیدواژه ها:

LittlEARS Auditory Questionnaire ، Questionnaire adaption ، psychometric characteristic ، auditory development ، Cochlear implants ، Normal hearing