Development, Reliability, and Validity of the Handwriting Proficiency Screening Questionnaire (HPSQ)

Abstract

Abstract OBJECTIVE. This study was used to (1) develop an occupational therapy screening questionnaire (the Handwriting Proficiency Screening Questionnaire [HPSQ]) to identify handwriting difficulties among school-aged children and (2) examine its reliability and validity. METHOD. The questionnaire’s content validity was established. Internal consistency, interrater and test–retest reliability, and concurrent and construct validity were initiated. Participants included 7-to 14-year-old (N = 230) typically developing school-aged children. RESULTS. The tool demonstrated good internal consistency (α = .90). Test–retest reliability for the score revealed an intraclass correlation coefficient (ICC) of .84 and interrater reliability of ICC =.92 for the total questionnaire score. Construct and concurrent validity were also confirmed. CONCLUSION. The HPSQ is suitable for use by occupational therapists for identification of handwriting deficiency among school-aged children and is appropriate for varied academic and clinical uses. More studies with larger samples of varied age groups are required to further support the questionnaire’s reliability and validity.