Reliability and Validity of the Youth and Young-Adult Participation and Environment Measure (Y-PEM): An Initial Evaluation

Saeideh Shahin, Sara Ahmed, Briano DiRezze, Dana Anaby

Abstract

Aim: To examine psychometric properties and aspects of utility of the Youth and young-adult Participation and Environment Measure (Y-PEM).

Methods: Young people with and without physical disabilities (n = 113) aged 12 to 31 (x¯ = 23; SD = 4.3) completed an online survey containing the Y-PEM and QQ-10 questionnaire. To examine construct validity, differences in participation levels and environmental barriers/facilitators were examined between those with (n = 56) and without disabilities (n = 57) via t-test. Internal consistency was computed using Cronbach's alpha. To examine test-retest reliability, a sub-sample of 70 participants completed the Y-PEM a second time, 2-4 weeks apart. The Intraclass correlation coefficient (ICC) was calculated.

Results: Descriptively, participants with disabilities had lower levels of frequency and involvement across all four settings: home, school/educational, community, workplace. Internal consistency were 0.71 and above (up to 0.82) across all scales with the exception of home (0.52) and workplace frequency (0.61). Test-retest reliability were 0.70 and above (up to 0.85) across all settings except for environmental supports at school (0.66) and workplace frequency (0.43). Y-PEM was perceived as a valuable tool with relatively low burden.

Conclusions: Initial psychometric properties are promising. Findings support Y-PEM's use as a feasible self-reported questionnaire for individuals aged 12-30 years old.

Keywords: Assessment; environment; participation measure; transition-aged; workplace participation.