Confiabilidade, validade convergente e desempenho do Trilhar: processo de validação de um instrumento

Abstract

Identifying signs of language disorders enables early intervention and, therefore, a better prognosis. TRILHAR is an instrument developed by brazilian researchers with the objective of providing screening of receptive and expressive vocabulary in children between 3 and 7 years old. This study aims to contribute to the validation process of TRILHAR by verifying the difference in performance in receptive and expressive vocabulary in schoolchildren from different regions, in addition to verifying the reliability and convergent validity of the instrument. For the first analysis, the sample consisted of 255 children aged 3 to 7 years old divided into two groups: G1 - 122 children from the state of São Paulo and G2 - 133 children from the state of Rio Grande do Norte. G1 had an average of 9.90 (SD = 0.350) points in receptive vocabulary, while G2 had 9.83 (SD = 0.412). Regarding expressive vocabulary, G1 had a mean of 8.82 (SD = 1.305) and G2 8.53 (SD = 1.253). To compare performances, the two-sample t-test was used, demonstrating that there was no significant difference in performance between the groups. The semantic aspect can be influenced by different conditions such as family and school environment, age, parents' education level and sociocultural diversity. It is concluded that the TRILHAR instrument is suitable for application in these two different sociocultural contexts. The second analysis aims to verify the convergent validity and reliability of TRILHAR. In addition, it aims to compare the performance of four different clinical groups - children with Speech Sound Disorders (SSD), Development Language Disorder (DLD), Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) and children at risk for dyslexia (D). The sample consisted of 35 children aged between 5 and 7 years (mean of 6.17 ± 0.82). Cronbach's Alpha was used to verify reliability. It showed very good reliability (α = 0.927). For convergent validity and comparison of vocabulary between groups, TVfUSP and ABFW vocabulary were applied. Kendall's Correlation was used for analysis. TRILHAR showed a moderate correlation with ABFW (r = 0.425; p = 0.002), while it did not present a significant p in the correlation with TVfUSP (p = 0.063). In the comparison between groups, G-SSD and G-D had the highest average of correct answers in TRILHAR, ABFW and TVfUSP. G-DLD had the lowest score in TRILHAR and ABFW. G-ASD had the lowest performance for TVfUSP. This performance is consistent with the results found in the literature, since DLD has significant implications for language acquisition and development, resulting in specific difficulties in phonological and lexical processing - both in receptive and expressive vocabulary. For the next steps, it is necessary to continue the validation process of the instrument, so that it can be made available for screening the vocabulary of brazilian children.