Cross-cultural validation and psychometric evaluation of the Dutch language version of the Children's Assessment of Participation and Enjoyment (CAPE) in children with and without physical disabilities

Objective: To assess construct validity, test-retest reliability and inter-interviewer reliability of the intensity dimension of the Children's Assessment of Participation and Enjoyment (CAPE) for children with and without physical disabilities in the Netherlands. Subjects: In total, 232 children aged 6-18 years (110 male, 122 female) participated. Seventy-four children with various physical disabilities and 158 without a disability. Design: Participants completed the CAPE and the Peabody Picture Vocabulary Test. In addition, parents of 142 children were interviewed using the Vineland Adaptive Behavior Scales and the Family Environment Scale. For 71 children test-retest reliability and for 60 children inter-interviewer reliability were assessed. Validity was examined by assessing differences in participation intensity in children with disabilities versus without a physical disability, boys versus girls, and younger versus older children. In addition, 13 hypotheses regarding participation, child and family variables were examined. Results: Validity of the CAPE was supported by significant differences in participation for subgroups. Participation differed significantly in children with and without disabilities. Girls participated more in all activities. Older children participated more in social activities and self-improvement activities, younger children participated more in recreational activities. Validity of the CAPE was further supported with significant correlation coefficients in 8 out of 13 hypotheses. Both test-retest and inter-interviewer reliability were good to excellent. Conclusions: The findings indicate that the Dutch language version of the CAPE is a reliable and valid instrument to measure participation in recreation and leisure activities for children with and without physical disabilities aged 6-18 years.