Validity of the Greek Knowledge About Childhood Autism Among Health Workers (KCAHW) Questionnaire

Abstract

The study investigates the reliability and validity of the Greek version of the knowledge about childhood autism among health workers (KCAHQ) questionnaire. A total of 541 allied healthcare participants (n1 = 471 students; n2 = 70 professionals) provided their socio-demographic variables and completed the KCAHQ. Analysis showed overall floor-ceiling effects lower than 15% and skewness-kurtosis values between ±2. The internal consistency was good (Kuder–Richardson 21 = 0.80) and all domains were significantly correlated with each other, with Spearman’s coefficients ranging from 0.26 to 0.57. The split-half reliability was satisfactory, with the Spearman–Brown and lambda 4 coefficients equal to 0.618 and 0.613, respectively. All the goodness of fit indices generated by confirmatory factor analysis were acceptable (CFI = 0.88; TLI = 0.861, RMSEA = 0.052). Being a professional, having personal contact with an individual with autism, and having received autism-specific training significantly increased scores on the KCAHW. Overall, the Greek KCAHQ seems reliable and valid; however, domain 4 presents insufficient internal consistency.

Keywords

• knowledge about childhood autism among health workers (KCAHQ) questionnaire
• autism knowledge
• validity
• reliability
• confirmatory factor analysis
• healthcare professionals