Psychometric Evaluation of Condition-Specific Instruments Used to Assess Health-Related Quality of Life, Attitudes, and Related Constructs in Stuttering

Abstract

Purpose This study assessed the psychometric properties of instruments used to measure constructs similar to stuttering-specific health-related quality of life. In the stuttering literature, most such instruments were originally intended to measure speakers' attitudes about, or reactions to, their stuttering. Method Seventeen instruments were identified through a comprehensive literature search. Based on specific criteria from previous publications, 10 were selected for complete review and evaluated using 15 measurement standards related to conceptual model, reliability, validity, responsiveness, interpretability (norms), burden (respondent and administrative), depth, and versatility. Results None of the available instruments met more than 8 of the 15 measurement standards assessed. Conclusions Available instruments do not satisfy psychometric criteria for use in individual or group-level decision making, either as measures of their originally intended constructs or as measures of health-related quality of life. Problems with the conceptual model, reliability, validity, and responsiveness of available instruments, as well as the lack of comprehensive normative data, combine to suggest the need for development and validation of a stuttering-specific health-related quality of life measure.