A1 Journal article (refereed)
Face and Content Validity of the Pictorial Scale of Perceived Water Competence in Young Children (2023)

De Sousa Morgado, L., De Martelaer, K., Sääkslahti, A., Howells, K., Barnett, L. M., D’Hondt, E., Costa, A. M., & Jidovtseff, B. (2023). Face and Content Validity of the Pictorial Scale of Perceived Water Competence in Young Children. Children, 10(1), Article 2. https://doi.org/10.3390/children10010002

JYU authors or editors

Publication details

All authors or editors: De Sousa Morgado, Liliane; De Martelaer, Kristine; Sääkslahti, Arja; Howells, Kristy; Barnett, Lisa M.; D’Hondt, Eva; Costa, Aldo M.; Jidovtseff, Boris

Journal or series: Children

eISSN: 2227-9067

Publication year: 2023

Publication date: 20/12/2022

Volume: 10

Issue number: 1

Article number: 2

Publisher: MDPI

Publication country: Switzerland

Publication language: English

DOI: https://doi.org/10.3390/children10010002

Publication open access: Openly available

Publication channel open access: Open Access channel

Publication is parallel published (JYX): https://jyx.jyu.fi/handle/123456789/85470

Abstract

An international group of experts have developed a pictorial tool to measure perceived water competence for children aged from 5 to 8 years old: the Pictorial Scale of Perceived Water Competence (PSPWC). The aim of the present study was to verify the validity of this tool. In the first part of the study, 120 children were interviewed to investigate face validity of the PSPWC to ensure that all pictorial items were understandable. In the second part of the study, 13 scientific and/or pedagogical international experts were invited to assess the tool’s content validity via an online survey. Face validity results revealed that children were able to understand and sequence correctly the aquatic situations in 92% of the cases. The average Content Validity Index (CVI) of the PSPWC ranged from 0.88 to 0.95, showing acceptable content validity. Feedback from experts and children resulted in a major improvement of the “exit water” situation and minor improvements concerning some other items. Experts confirmed that the PSPWC was globally appropriate for different countries and cultures, except for the situation “water entry by slide” which was not considered usual practice in some countries. The PSPWC opens up to new fields of research; useful both for the prevention of drowning and for the support of children’s aquatic education.

Keywords: children (age groups); water exercise; swimming skills; motor skills (general); safety and security; measuring methods; self-evaluation; validity

Free keywords: aquatic skills; water safety; self-perception; tool; motor skills; face validity; content validity; children

Contributing organizations

Ministry reporting: Yes

Reporting Year: 2023

JUFO rating: 1