The psychometric properties of the Persian version of categorization of auditory performance II and speech intelligibility rating scales in cochlear-implanted deaf children

Clinicians and researchers always need standard measures for the evaluation of auditory perception and speech production in deaf children, particularly those with cochlear implants. This study addresses the reliability and validity of the Persian version of categorization of auditory performance (CAP) scale and speech intelligibility rating (SIR) in cochlear-implanted prelingual deaf children. A total of 92 cochlear-implanted deaf children aged 1.3-15.7 years participated in the study. Test-retest reliability, inter-rater reliability, and criterion and construct validity of the scales were investigated. The obtained test-retest reliability for categorization of the auditory performance scale and speech intelligibility rating was 0.82 and 0.99 (p<0.01), respectively, whereas the suggested inter-rater reliability based on average Cohen’s kappa coefficient was 0.73 and 0.70 for the two scales (p<0.01), which appear acceptable. The concurrent validity of the scales was 0.64 and 0.69 (p<0.01). The construct validity for categorization of the auditory performance scale ranged between 0.58 and 0.74 (p<0.01), whereas the same feature for the speech intelligibility rating indicated a range between 0.66 and 0.69 (p<0.01). The findings of this investigation indicated that both CAPII and SIR scales are reliable and valid instruments for the assessment of auditory perception and speech production of cochlear-implant deaf children.