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Original Article

Reliability and Construct Validity of a Child Self-Report Instrument

The Dominic Interactive

Published Online:January 01, 2014https://doi.org/10.1027/1015-5759/a000166

Abstract

Both clinicians and researchers agree on the value of self-report in child mental health assessment. The pictorial format of the computerized Dominic Interactive is an addition to the existing questionnaires, specifically concerning young children. Although prior studies on the Dominic Interactive reported favorable psychometric properties, the reliability was not always satisfactory for every scale, and no studies confirmed the proposed DSM-IV factor structure of the Dominic Interactive. This study examines these two psychometric aspects using a sample of 1,504 Dutch primary-school children aged 6–13 years. α was computed and compared with ω, an alternative index of reliability. CFA was conducted as was the measurement invariance at a configural, scalar, and metric level across both age and sex. The results showed that ω values were above .80, indicating good to high reliability for all scales. The DSM-IV factor structure was confirmed and proved to be identical across age groups and among both boys and girls in this sample. These findings lay the foundation for the meaningful use of the norms needed in clinical practice. They also contribute to the increasing value of the Dominic Interactive as a self-report instrument in child mental health screening.

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