Early language and communication development in Chinese children: Adaption and validation of a parent report instrument

Purpose: To fulfil the needs of assessment tools in the Chinese population, we adapted the LENA Developmental Snapshot, a parent survey that measures early language and communication development in English-speaking children. We reported the psychometric properties of the adapted questionnaire and evaluated the metric and functional equivalence between the adapted and the original instruments. Method: The Snapshot was translated into Chinese and reviewed by an expert panel. English-specific items (e.g. past tense, plural) were mapped onto functionally similar Mandarin vocabulary and structures. The questionnaire was administered to 1300 families with children ages 2–48 months. The Bayley Scales of Infant Development was administered to a subsample. Result: Scores on the adapted questionnaire showed age-related increases in the 7–36 month age range and correlated with scores on the Chinese Bayley. The questionnaire showed high internal consistency and split-half reliability. Comparison with the US norm revealed slightly lower performance in the current sample. Adaptations of English-specific items resulted in functionally equivalent targets. Conclusion: Despite differences in linguistic roots, the Chinese adaption of the LENA Snapshot captured developmental changes in children’s language and communication abilities. Additional norming and validation efforts are needed in a more representative sample.