Turkish Adaptation and Validation of the Parent and Youth Forms of the Ohio Youth Scales

Physiotherapy and rehabilitation aim not only to improve physical functions but also to promote participation in daily activities, social adaptation, and quality of life. According to the International Classification of Functioning, Disability and Health framework, health should be evaluated by considering body structures and functions, activity, participation, and environmental factors. Emotional status, behavioral characteristics, and psychosocial functioning may directly influence rehabilitation, particularly among children and adolescents with neurological or chronic conditions.

The Ohio Youth Scales provide multidimensional assessments of problems, functioning, and satisfaction through Parent and Youth Forms. The Turkish adaptation of these instruments may facilitate the assessment of psychosocial status and social participation among children and adolescents receiving rehabilitation services. The scales may also support physiotherapists within multidisciplinary assessment, contribute to the development of rehabilitation goals that reflect psychosocial needs, and provide valid and reliable instruments for future clinical and academic research.

This methodological and descriptive observational study aims to translate and culturally adapt the Parent and Youth Forms of the Ohio Youth Scales into Turkish and evaluate their psychometric properties. Approximately 300 children and adolescents aged 5-18 years and their parents will voluntarily participate. The Parent Form will be administered to parents of children and adolescents aged 5-18 years, while the Youth Form will be administered to participants aged 12-18 years.

The adaptation process will be conducted in accordance with international guidelines for the cross-cultural adaptation of measurement instruments. First, the original forms will be independently translated from English into Turkish by at least two researchers who are proficient in both languages and knowledgeable in the relevant field. The translations will be compared and reconciled to produce a common Turkish version.

The reconciled Turkish version will then be independently translated back into English by translators who are native English speakers or have advanced proficiency in English and who have not reviewed the original forms. The back-translated versions will be compared with the original instruments to evaluate conceptual equivalence and consistency of meaning.

Expert opinions will subsequently be obtained to evaluate linguistic appropriateness, cultural relevance, and content validity. Necessary revisions will be made based on the expert evaluations, resulting in a preliminary Turkish version. This preliminary version will be pilot-tested with a limited number of individuals from the target population. Participants' understanding of the items will be evaluated, and unclear expressions will be revised before the final Turkish forms are produced.

Data will be collected face-to-face or in another appropriate setting. Completion of the questionnaires is expected to take approximately 15-20 minutes. A second administration will be conducted after a two-week interval to assess test-retest reliability.

The Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire will be used to assess emotional and behavioral difficulties, and the Psychological Well-Being Scale will be used to assess psychological well-being as part of the validity evaluation. Relationships between the Parent and Youth Forms will also be examined.

Descriptive statistics will include frequencies and percentages for categorical variables and means, medians, standard deviations, and ranges for continuous variables. Internal consistency will be evaluated using Cronbach's alpha coefficients. Construct validity will be examined using confirmatory factor analysis. Test-retest reliability will be evaluated using intraclass correlation coefficients based on a two-way mixed-effects model. Measurement error and agreement will be assessed using the standard error of measurement and minimal detectable change. Responsiveness may be evaluated using Global Rating of Change scores or other appropriate validated measures. Statistical significance will be set at p<0.05.

No medical intervention or invasive procedure will be performed. No biological samples will be collected, and no biochemical, hematological, genetic, or other laboratory examinations will be conducted.