Self-Determination assessment and evaluation in Romanian adolescents: preliminary psychometric properties of the ARC’s self-Determination scale

Abstract

ABSTRACT Research in self-determination has expanded in recent years, especially in the special education field. Instruments to measure self-determination in students with disabilities are not available in the Romanian language, and this issue has led to the development of the current study, a cultural adaptation , and validation of The ARC’s Self-Determination Scale which provides a strong psychometric measure of self-determination. Based on the Functional Model of Self-determination, this scale is designed to measure the four components of self-determination construct and global self-determination in students with disabilities. This pilot test study aims to explain the cultural adaptation and validation process of The ARC’s Self-Determination Scale for use in the Romanian research context and the educational approach. The participants’ sample for the validation process of the scale comprised 275 young students with learning disabilities, and mild and moderate intellectual disabilities, the participants were ranging ages from 11 and 19 years old (M = 14.93; SD = 1.47). Through the structuraequation modeling approach, the estimation of the latent model fit provided evidence of internal validity of the scale, demonstrating the adequacy to measure self-determination in adolescents with mild and moderate intellectual disabilities. The values of internal consistency coefficients and validity characteristics are discussed. .