Validation of a French adaptation of the Multidimensional Student's Life Satisfaction Scale in its abbreviated form, for 5- to 11-year-old children with and without intellectual disability. Issue 4 (2nd October 2018)

• Record Type: Journal Article
• Authors: Coudronnière, Charlotte; Bacro, Fabien; Guimard, Philippe; Muller, Jean-Baptiste
• Is Part Of: Journal of intellectual & developmental disability. Volume 43:Issue 4(2018)
• Page Start: 407
• Page End: 420
• Publication Date: 2018-10-02
• Subjects: children with intellectual disability -- quality of life -- wellbeing -- life satisfaction scale -- French validation -- self-assessment; Learning disabilities -- Periodicals; Developmental disabilities -- Periodicals; Mental retardation -- Periodicals; 362.1968
• DOI: 10.3109/13668250.2017.1285012
• Languages: English
• ISSNs: 1366-8250

Abstract

ABSTRACT: Background: The quality of life (QOL) of children with and without intellectual disability (ID) has become a growing concern in the literature but the QOL instruments are not adapted for use with young children and children with ID. The objective of this study was to validate a French adaptation of the abbreviated form of the Multidimensional Student's Life Satisfaction Scale (MSLSS). Method: Confirmatory factor analyses were conducted on the data collected from 411 children aged between 5 and 11 years old. Internal consistency, test–retest fidelity, and convergent validity were tested. Results: The preliminary results of this study show that the model fitted the data collected to assess the life satisfaction of children, χ 2 (395) = 705.340; p < .001; CFI = 0.911; TLI = 0.902; RMSEA = 0.044. Very good levels of internal consistency were obtained for both children with and without ID, with coefficients ranging from 0.70 to 0.88. The test–retest coefficients calculated after a 2-week interval highlighted a moderate (coefficients lower than 0.70) to weak temporal stability, which seemed more pronounced in children with ID. Conclusion: Despite some limitations, this instrument could be very useful for childhood professionals. It will enable them to assess the perception that children have of their wellbeing in the perspective of promoting their QOL. This scale also provides researchers in psychology with the opportunity to enrich their knowledge on the QOL of children with ID.