engleski

Development and initial validation of the ESSENCE-Q South Slavic language versions

Objectives: To translate the ESSENCE-Q screening instrument for neurodevelopmental disorders into South Slavic languages, namely Bosnian, Bulgarian, Croatian, Macedonian, Montenegrin, Serbian, and Slovenian. Methods: The ESSENCE-Q (12 items, possible total scores 0-24) was translated into languages abovementioned in a multiple-step process. Afterwards, it was administered via interviews with one parent for a total of 112 children under the age of 6 assessed for developmental difficulties. Forty of the screened children had one or more neurodevelopmental disorders (NDDs). Results: The translated questionnaires have appropriate content and face validity, with sound conceptual, item, semantic, and operational equivalence with the original. Only two items were found to be incomprehensive (“Motor development/milestones” and “Funny spells/absences). Thus, slight modifications were applied, preserving the original meaning. On average, children with NDDs had significantly higher scores than healthy children or children with psychological symptoms not related to NDDs (F(df) = 38.27(2), p < 0.001). Based on receiver operating characteristics analysis, an optimal cut-off of ≥4 had 85% sensitivity and 72.2% specificity. Conclusions: The ESSENCE-Q versions developed in this study have promising measurement properties when screening for children with NDDs in countries speaking South Slavic languages.

Neurodevelopmental disorders ; screening ; children

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