Construction and Standardization of the Syrian Version of the Word Recognition Test for Children with Hearing Impairment

Background and Aim: This study aimed to construct and validate the test material of speech recognition test for children. Such a material helps in conducting the speech tests for native Arab children with Syrian accent. This work is a part of a complete project on preparing and validating the necessary materials for speech and central auditory processing tests for the Arabic Syrian community. Methods: In this cross-sectional comparative study, two sets of phonetically balanced monosyllabic word lists were constructed. The two selected 25-monosyllabic word lists were presented to 50 normal hearing participants with the age range of 5 to 10 years. Tests of validity and reliability were conducted to assure the suitability of this material for the word recognition test. The test was repeated for the same children after three weeks. Results: The two word lists have shown high face and content validity, Cronbach`s alpha coefficient was 0.79, 0.85 for the two lists respectively. Factor validity has shown that the test materials are one-dimensional, the first factor achieved 57.25 and 53.13 of the variance. Test- retest reliability (p<0.001) and Intraclass Correlation Coefficients reliability (p<0.001) were also significant. Conclusion: The data analysis shows that the Syrian version of the word recognition test has high degree of validity and reliability. Therefore, developing the Syrian version of the scale has good psychometric properties, which makes it appropriate for the local use. Keywords: Speech discrimination test; monosyllabic; arabic; syrian accent