Normatização e validação do teste não-verbal de inteligência son-r2 1/2-7[a] para o Brasil

AUTOR(ES)
DATA DE PUBLICAÇÃO

2009

RESUMO

The main objectives of this doctoral thesis were to establish Brazilian norms for the non-verbal test of intelligence SON-R 2-7[a], originally developed in the Netherlands, and to obtain evidence about its validity in Brazil. To accomplish these goals, initially, a validation study was undertaken of the content of the four subtests (Mosaics, Categories, Situations and Patterns) of the SON-R 2-7[a] which assess abstract and concrete reasoning and spatial insight. This first study resulted in a number of changes in items of the subtest Categories. As a second step a pilot study was realized with children of an institution of regular education and an institution for children with hearing problems. The results of this study indicated good psychometric qualities of the test as a whole, and satisfactory reliability indices of the individual subtests. After the pilot study the normatization and validation studies were initiated. The normatization was performed using a national sample of children of Brazil, consisting of 1,200 subjects from 3 years and 3 months to 7 years and 9 months of age. The children that participated came from all five regions in Brazil and from 13 different states. Each age group was represented by a sample of 120 children that was stratified according to sex, educational type and demographic variables. A step of vital importance in the normatization was the transformation of raw subtest scores to normally distributed scores with a fixed mean and standard deviation. These transformations are usually carried out separately for each age group. However, in this research a different method was used: the score distributions for all age groups were fitted simultaneously as a continuous function of age. This fitting procedure was used in order to minimize the difference between the observed and the estimated population distribution. The method was developed in the Netherlands for the normatization of the SON-R 5-17 and was also used for the normatization of the SON-R 2-7. A major advantage of this method is that the use of information on all groups simultaneously makes the normatization much more accurate. Another essential benefit of this method is the possibility to calculate norm scores for each exact age in the examined age range. Once the normatization was concluded, the reliability of the test scores was examined: the mean internal consistency of the subtests was .79. Categories showed the highest mean reliability coefficient (.81) and Situations the lowest mean reliability index (.77). The mean reliability of the SON-R IQ score is .92. The construct validity of the SON-R was investigated by means of Confirmatory Factor Analysis and Schmid-Leiman solution. Results of this analysis supported the distinction made in the SON-R 2-7 between the Performance Scale and the Reasoning Scale and a general factor. The convergent validity of the SON-R 2-7[a] was examined by the combined administration of the SON-R test with the following intelligence tests: the Wechsler Preschool and Primary Scale of Intelligence-Third Edition (WPSSI-III), the Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Children-Third Edition (WISC-III), the Columbia Mental Maturity Scales (CMMS) and Ravens Colored Progressive Matrices (CPM). With these tests the SON-R showed, in the above mentioned order, the following validation coefficients: .75, .67, .68 and .56. The relative high correlation with the WPPSI-III (.75), a test battery of a broad intelligence construct, suggests that the SON-R 2-7 [a] is measuring a broader intelligence construct than Ravens CPM and the Columbia. With the present study a valid, reliable instrument that assesses cognitive abilities of young children with Brazilian norms becomes available. This instrument will hopefully contribute to improve clinical diagnoses of specific difficulties in the cognitive development of children in the priority age group for early intervention.

ASSUNTO(S)

procedimento de ajuste simultâneo de grupos de idade separados son-r 2-7[a] normatização teste não-verbal de inteligência para crianças normatization psicologia simultaneously fitting procedure of separate age groups validação non-verbal test of intelligence for young children son-r 2-7[a] validation

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