Brief report comparing the Scale of Emotional Development – Short (SED-S) with other scales for emotional development

Abstract

Background: Different instruments were devised for assessing emotional development (ED) level in persons with an intellectual disability (ID), that is, the Scale of Emotional Development – Short (SED-S), the Scheme for Appraisal of Emotional Development (SAED), the Scale for Emotional Development – Second Revision (SED-R2) and the Schaal voor Emotionele Ontwikkeling – Lukas (SEO-Lukas). The aim of this study was to compare the level of emotional functioning as assessed with the SED-S with the SAED, SED-R2 and SEO-Lukas. Methods: Emotional development was measured in adults with ID with the SED-S (N = 186) and the SAED (n = 85), the SED-R2 (n = 50) and the SEO-Lukas (n = 51). Correlation analysis and Cohen's kappas were calculated between the SED-S and the three respective scales. Internal consistencies (Cronbach's alpha) of the four scales were determined. Results: The SED-S results correlated most with the SEO-Lukas (γ = 1; кω = 0.936) followed by the SAED (γ = 0.809; кω = 0.343) and least by the SED-R2 (γ = 0.665; кω = 0.182). The stage of ED assessed with the SED-S was lower than the ED results measured with the SAED, but higher than with the SED-R2 and most similar to the SEO-Lukas. Cronbach's alphas were high, ranging from 0.853 to 0.975. Conclusions: Given the respective differences between the scales, the SED-S may equalise the results as compared with previous versions.