Development, validity, reliability and normative data of the Persian Phonemic Synthesis Test (P-PST)

Objectives: This study was conducted to develop the Persian version of the Phonemic Synthesis Test, evaluate its psychometric properties and generate normative data. Design: Test development, including the optimisation of materials, determining content and face validities and assessing the psychometric properties. Study samples: Overall, 425 subjects participated in this study in three different stages. Ten experts participated in the content validity assessment stage. The face validity was determined by taking the views of 17 subjects, including children diagnosed with APD, normal children and experts. The psychometric properties were evaluated with 395 normal children aged 7 to 11, divided into five age groups. All the participants were retested after four weeks for evaluating the test-retest reliability. Results: The results revealed the strong content and face validity of the test. No significant differences were observed between the genders. Significant differences were observed in the quantitative and qualitative scores among the age groups. The Spearman correlation coefficient showed that the scores of the test and retest were strongly and positively correlated (r > 0.9). The findings showed many similarities with the data reported in the original American English Phonemic Synthesis Test. Conclusions: The Persian Phonemic Synthesis Test is a reliable and valid test for auditory processing assessments in Persian-speaking children.