Psychometric Evaluation of a Social-Emotional Screening Questionnaire for 5-Year-Olds in Taiwan

The Ages & Stages Questionnaires: Social-Emotional, Second Edition (ASQ:SE-2) is a caregiver-completed screening tool for children ages 1 to 72 months. The measure has been adapted for use in Taiwan. This study examined the psychometric properties of the Traditional Chinese version of the 60-month interval (ASQ:SE-2-TC) using item response theory (IRT) and gender differences using differential item functioning analyses. A sample of 702 children, ages 54 months 0 days to 72 months 30 days, was collected to proportionally reflect the population distribution across regions in Taiwan. Results indicated that (a) item fit statistics ranged from 0.84 to 1.34 ( M = 1.01, SD = 0.13), (b) item difficulty ranged from −0.41 to 3.75 ( M = 2.00, SD = 0.74), (c) reliability (EAP/PV) was 0.80, and (d) all items demonstrated negligible differential item functioning by gender. One misfitting item was further examined using item characteristic curves to evaluate its performance across the latent trait continuum of social-emotional competence. Findings provide psychometric support for the use of the ASQ:SE-2-TC with Taiwanese children. The promising evidence suggests the importance of continued validation efforts to further establish its utility in developmental screening.