The Development of an Instrument to Measure the Restrictiveness of Children's Living Environments

The purpose of this study was to establish content validity and reliability in assessing the restrictiveness of children's living environments and to develop an instrument that has practical utility to measure restrictiveness. The primary method employed in the study was an expert panel approach. An initial 12-person expert panel was identified to generate a description of the concept of restrictiveness and a list of possible living environment circumstances. A subsequent 64-member expert panel independently rated the restrictiveness of each living environment situation on a 7-point category partition scale ranging from not very restrictive to very restrictive. The expert panels consisted of interdisciplinary professionals engaged in placement planning and decision making regarding children's places of living. Test-retest reliabilities and coefficient alpha indicated the existence of a reliable and consistent assessment of restrictiveness. The process resulted in a valid, reliable, and brief instrument for rating the restrictiveness of 34 children's living environments.