The Early Childhood Behavior Questionnaire Very Short Form (ECBQ VSF) and its adaptation to the population of the Czech Republic

• Main Authors: Petra Potměšilová, Miloň Potměšil
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Published: Medical Communications Sp. z o.o. 2019-09-01
• Series: Psychiatria i Psychologia Kliniczna
• Subjects: temperament; ecbq questionnaire; adaptation; czech population
• Online Access: http://www.psychiatria.com.pl/index.php/wydawnictwa/2019-vol-19-no-3/the-early-childhood-behavior-questionnaire-very-short-form-ecbq-vsf-and-its-adaptation-to-the-population-of-the-czech-republic?aid=876
• ISSN: 1644-6313; 2451-0645

Temperament can be defined as a complex of typical innate traits which manifest themselves in characteristic ways of reacting, acting, and feeling. In 1981, Mary Rothbart published the Early Childhood Behavior Questionnaire on toddlers’ behaviour, based on parental assessments in certain situations, which perceived temperament as “constitutionally-based individual differences in reactivity and regulation.” The process of adapting the tool to the Czech population commenced in 2017. Objectives: The aim of the study was to adapt the Early Childhood Behavior Questionnaire Very Short Form (ECBQ VSF) on temperament to the Czech population of children. The results are to be used for the possible distribution to child psychologists for research purposes. Subjects and setting: The data were obtained from a representative sample of parents of 709 children aged 18–36 months [371 (52%) boys and 338 (48%) girls]. Results: The reliability of the adapted test was verified with Cronbach’s alpha – first, for individual scales in general, then for individual scales divided by gender and age. Except for one case (boys – Surgency scale – age 18–23 months), Cronbach alpha values were within an acceptable range. The distribution of items into individual scales was verified with a factor analysis. The factor analysis confirmed the distribution of items into scales with the similarity of the original questionnaire’s version. Five controversial items were identified. Future research activities will focus on explaining this phenomenon. Differences between values obtained in boys and girls were determined with two-way ANOVA. The differences were found in the Surgency scale according to age and the Effortful Control scale according to age and gender as well. In the Surgency scale, the score increases along with the age; with the Effortful Control scale, girls achieved higher scores than boys. The score also increases with probands’ age. Upon the completion of the work, the ECBQ VSF questionnaire was adapted for the use in research activities targeted at the Czech population. Study limits: The results are based on a parental evaluation, but this was entirely consistent with the process of the creation of the original tool.