Validation of the Norwegian version of the Parents’ Evaluation of Aural/ Oral Performance of Children (PEACH+) for children with typical hearing aged 12–72 months

Abstract

Background The Parents’ Evaluation of Aural/Oral Performance of Children (PEACH+) is a parent reported questionnaire. It was first developed in Australia (2007) to assess the effectiveness of hearing devices in young children, and to register how oral children under the age of five hear and communicate with others. Objective No validated version of the Norwegian translation of PEACH+ exists. This study therefore aims to evaluate the validity and reliability of a back-translated Norwegian version of the PEACH+, from a sample of Norwegian children with typical hearing. Methods Parents of 255 children with typical hearing between 12 and 72 months were recruited through kindergartens and social media platforms. Participants were asked to fill in the PEACH+ questionnaire on behalf of their child, in a digital format. Results High internal consistency (Cronbach’s Alpha = .917) and satisfactory item-total correlation were found (.342-.678). Conclusion The Norwegian translation of PEACH+ shows good psychometric properties that are similar to the original version (Ching and Hill, 2007) and that of other translations. The PEACH+ questionnaire is therefore valid to use in a Norwegian context.