Psychometric properties of the Child and Adolescent Scale of Participation (CASP) across a 3-year period for children and youth with traumatic brain injury

BACKGROUND: Children with traumatic brain injury are often restricted in their participation due to impairments and environmental barriers. Reliable and valid instruments are essential for monitoring their participation over time. OBJECTIVE: To examine the construct validity and internal consistency of the Child and Adolescent Scale of Participation (CASP) across a 3-year period. METHODS: A longitudinal prospective cohort study (USA) that included 926 children (0-18 years) with TBI and arm injury. Three measures were administered at 3, 12, 24, and 36 months post-injury: The CASP, Pediatric Quality of Life Inventory (PedsQL), and Adaptive Behavior Assessment Scale II (ABAS). RESULTS: Associations between the CASP and PedsQL and ABAS were moderate-to-high at all time periods. Internal consistency of the CASP and its sub-sections was high, with a pattern of gradual increase over time. Factor analyses indicated a clearer four factor solution at 3, 12 and 24 months resembling the four CASP sub-sections. CONCUSIONS: Results provide evidence of convergent validity and internal consistency of the CASP and support its use for assessing participation of children with TBI over time. Prudence should be taken when considering use of factor scores due to differences in factor solutions found in this study and prior studies.