Psychometric propierties of the Selective Mutism Questionnaire in Spanish children

• Published in: International journal of clinical and health psychology 2021-09, Vol.21 (3), p.100249-9, Article 100249
• Main Authors: Olivares-Olivares, Pablo José, Rosa-Alcázar, Ángel, Nuñez, Rosa, Olivares, José
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Anxiety disorders; Children & youth; Comorbidity; Estudio instrumental; Families & family life; Instrumental study; Niños españoles de habla castellana; Original; Parents & parenting; Quantitative psychology; Questionnaires; Selective Mutism Questionnaire; Separation anxiety; Social anxiety; Spanish-speaking children; Speaking; Speech; Validación; Validation; Validity
• ISSN: 1697-2600; 2174-0852
• DOI: 10.1016/j.ijchp.2021.100249

Research on selective mutism (SM) has been limited by the absence of standardised, psychometrically sound and cross-culturally valid assessment measures. Our aim is to present the results of a study of the factor structure and the reliability and concurrent validity of the scores of the Selective Mutism Questionnaire (SMQ), translated and adapted into Spanish. The SMQ contains 17 items about children's difficulty in speaking adequately in the family, school and social environment (out-of-school and out-of-family), each of which is answered according to a Likert scale with four response alternatives on speech frequency. Method: The study involved 110 pairs of parents of children diagnosed with SM whose ages ranged from 3 to 10 years. Results: The results show that the data from the Spanish sample fit the factorial model obtained by Bergman et al., and that data on its reliability and validity are robust and confirm that it as a good instrument for assessing SM in Spanish-speaking children. Conclusions: Therefore, we can affirm that the SMQ is a good instrument to assess SM in Spanish-speaking children. La investigación sobre el mutismo selectivo (MS) se ha visto limitada por la ausencia de medidas de evaluación estandarizadas, psicométricamente sólidas y con validez transcultural. Nuestro objetivo es presentar los resultados de un estudio de la estructura factorial, fiabilidad y validez concurrente de las puntaciones del Selective Mutism Questionnaire (SMQ), traducido y adaptado al español. El SMQ contiene 17 ítems sobre la dificultad de los niños para hablar adecuadamente en el ámbito familiar, escolar y social (extraescolar y ajeno al ámbito familiar), cada uno de los cuales se contesta según una escala tipo Likert con cuatro alternativas de respuesta sobre la frecuencia del habla. Método: En el estudio participaron 110 parejas de padres de niños y niñas diagnosticados con MS. Resultados: Los resultados muestran que los datos de la muestra española se ajustan al modelo factorial obtenido por Bergman et al., así como que los datos sobre su fiabilidad y la validez son robustos. Conclusiones: Por todo ello podemos afirmar que el SMQ es un buen instrumento para valorar el MS en niños y niñas españoles de habla castellana.