About My Child questionnaire: translation and psychometric properties of the Brazilian version

Abstract

Objective: This study aimed to translate the About My Child questionnaire into Brazilian Portuguese and evaluate its psychometric properties. Standardized instruments that assess health and everyday life impacts in children with neurological or developmental disabilities are essential for clinical and research settings. Method: The translation process followed the stages of translation, back-translation, semantic analysis, and content analysis. A pre-test was conducted with calculation of the content validity index, resulting in the final version. The psychometric properties were analyzed using the agreement index for semantic and content analyses (>80% agreement). Internal consistency and test-retest reliability were examined for the “concerns” and “perceived impact” domains. Results: After adjustments to specific expressions, all items reached the expected agreement level (100%). The About My Child questionnaire showed satisfactory internal consistency for both domains (“concerns”: α = 0.888; “perceived impact”: α = 0.913). Test-retest reliability showed Cohen’s kappa coefficients for the “concerns” domain ranging from 0.19 to 0.4750, with agreement between 24.44% and 76.12%. Conclusion: Further studies with more diverse samples and additional validation procedures are recommended to strengthen the understanding of the instrument’s psychometric properties. Nevertheless, the findings indicate that the Brazilian version of the About My Child has adequate internal consistency and preliminary evidence of test–retest reliability. These results support the feasibility of using the Brazilian version of the About My Child in clinical and research settings in Brazil.