Internal consistency and concurrent validity of the parental report instrument on language in pre-school-aged children – The Finnish Communicative Development Inventory III

Abstract

Few studies provide information on the reliability and validity of parental report instruments when assessing the language skills of pre-school–aged children. This study investigates the internal consistency and concurrent validity of the parental report instrument, the Finnish version of the Communicative Development Inventory III (FinCDI III), in children aged between 2;6 and 4;2 years (years;months, N = 155). One main aim was to analyze the validity of the information that parents can provide on different language domains (lexicon, phonology, morpho-syntax, metalinguistic skills) of their pre-school–aged children. In addition, the effect of age and background factors on the results of the FinCDI III was investigated. The FinCDI III was first adapted based on the Swedish version of the CDI III. Information on different language domains was gathered using the FinCDI III and respective tests. The internal consistency of FinCDI III was generally high (for the whole method: α = .91). Correlations between the sub-sections of the FinCDI III and respective test results varied from moderate to high ( r-values = .35–.70, p < .001). A high correlation ( r = .68) was detected between the total score of the FinCD III and that of the formal test focusing on general language competence. Age had a significant effect on the results of FinCDI III. Girls had generally higher FinCDI III scores than boys. The results underline the fact that parents can provide comparable information on the specific language domains of their pre-school–aged children as formal language tests when assessment is targeted to current behavior and when a recognition format is used. Findings broaden and strengthen earlier results regarding the validity of parental estimates on their child’s language, to now encompass older children aged between 2;6 and 4 years.