Qualidades Psicométricas da Escala de Atividade de Werry-Weiss-Peters: Estudo Preliminar da Versão Portuguesa

Abstract

Early screening and referral of children at risk for Attention Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder are a challenge for primary care physicians, pediatricians, psychologists, and child psychiatrists aiming to interrupt deviant developmental trajectories. This paper analyses psychometric characteristics of the Portuguese version of the Werry-Weiss-Peters Activity Scale (Routh, 1978), that assesses children's activity level in family context. Based on a normative sample of 340 children aged 3 to 11, and a sample of 157 children aged 3 to 6 at risk for disruptive behavior problems, the validity of a single scale score was demonstrated, as well as high internal consistency, stability across time and capacity to discriminate between children with and without disruptive behavior. Results were analyzed according to children's gender and age. The Portuguese version of the WWP Scale shows evidence of good reliability and validity, and may therefore be a potentially useful screening measure of hyperactivity for professionals and researchers.