Reliability of Retrospective Parent Report: Hours and Type of Intervention

Background:  Research on ASD frequently relies on retrospective parent report to gather information about the child’s behavioral profile as well as any interventions employed. Many intervention studies have utilized retrospective report to detail the type and intensity of interventions used by children in early development. Previous research has called into question the reliability of retrospective report in general; therefore it is important to understand whether we can rely on retrospective parent report to inform intervention practices.

Objectives:  

The current study examines the agreement between parent’s report of intervention at the time the child was receiving those services, and their retrospective report of those same services 5 years later.

Methods:  

In a longitudinal study, 24 parents reported on the services their child had received during the past year when the child was approximately 4 years of age (M = 52.33, SD = 9.83; Time 1). The child returned for a follow-up evaluation at 9 years of age (M = 116.76, SD = 9.91; Time 2) and parents were asked to recall the services their child received from 3-4 years of age.

Results:  

Children most frequently received occupational therapy, speech therapy or ABA therapy. Correlation coefficients between therapy hours recalled at Time 1 and Time 2 were significant for all three types of therapy (OT: r = 0.46, p = .02; ST: r = 0.74, p < .001; ABA: r = 0.90, p < .001). Reliability between Time 1 and Time 2 reports was calculated using Cronbach’s alpha and demonstrated good agreement across therapies: OT, α = 0.61; ST, α = 0.85; ABA, α = 0.94. Further types of interventions will be discussed.

Conclusions:  

Although there was not perfect agreement between intervention hours reported at Time 1 and Time 2, the agreement between current and retrospective report was significant. The current study supports the validity of parent retrospective report to examine the effects of types and intensity of interventions on child outcomes.