ABSTRACT

Objective : The purpose of this study was to verify the construct validity of the Sensory Profile in a sample of children diagnosed with Pervasive Developmental Disorder (PDD). Methods : Parents of 162 normal children and 204 children with Pervasive Developmental Disorder(PDD) between the ages of 3 and 5 participated in this study. The construct validity of the Sensory Profile was investigated using Rasch analysis. Rasch analysis was used to identify unidimensionality, item difficulty, and validation of the rating scale. Results : The results of Rasch analysis showed that 23 misfit items and item difficulty of the Sensory Profile was lower than the sensory processing level of Pervasive Developmental Disorder(PDD). As such, items of high-level of difficulty are needed as new items of the Korean Sensory Profile. A 3-point rating scale of the Sensory Profile was found to be more appropriate than the original 5-point scale. Conclusions : Finally, 4 items on the sedentary factor and 23 misfit items were eliminated, then the 5-point rating scale was converted into a 3-point rating scale. Further studies are needed in order to establish the clinical utility of the Korean Sensory Profile for children with Pervasive Developmental Disorder (PDD). New items of a high-level of difficulty and new cutoff values using a 3-point rating scale is needed.