Comparison between the spanish and catalan versions of the Supports Intensity Scale for Children (SIS-C).

BACKGROUND: The new socio-ecological model of disability directs attention to the importance of the environment in understanding individual functioning and promotes the provision of support from an early age. Following on from that thinking, the SIS-C (Supports Intensity Scale for Children) has been developed as an innovative assessment tool focused on designing individualized support plans. The aim of this study was to establish a comparison between the psychometric properties of the Spanish and Catalan versions of this scale.

METHOD: The SIS-C allows us to assess the support needs of children (5-16 years old) with intellectual disabilities to fully participate in 61 daily activities within seven different contexts. The Spanish version was administered to 814 participants and the Catalan version to 949.

RESULTS: Findings show that both versions have adequate psychometric properties, such as high levels of internal consistency and criterion validity. In terms of scale structure, adjustment indices derived from factor analysis showed that both versions reproduced a correlational model composed of seven factors better than unidimensional or hierarchical models.

CONCLUSIONS: Although the Spanish version of the scale showed better statistical indices, both versions are similarly suitable for accurately assessing the support needs of this population.