Time for time : Assessment of time processing ability and daily time management in children with and without disabilities

In the time-dependent society of today, those with limited ability to manage time will show a heightened dependence on others and more need for support, exacerbating their inferior role and vulnerability. There are many children who cannot learn to tell the time from a clock and children who, although they are able to tell the time from a clock, still cannot use this information in their everyday lives; they cannot “manage” time. The general aim of this thesis was contributing to knowledge of children with and without cognitive disabilities for supporting children with difficulties in their daily time management (TM). The focus of this thesis was further development of instruments for assessing Time Processing Ability (TPA) and daily TM in children, focusing on the constructs measured and investigating differences in TPA and daily TM between children with and without cognitive disabilities. The purpose of Study I was to examine aspects of construct validity of a new instrument, for assessing TPA in typically developing (TD) children. Data from 510 year-old TD children (n=144), was collected with a multi diciplinary instrument: Kit for assessing Time processing ability (KaTid), a Parent scale for daily time management and Self-rating of autonomy. Data was analysed using modern test statistics, Rasch models. A step-by-step procedure was carried out, omitting items that did not fit the model. 51 items in KaTid demonstrated acceptable goodness-of-fit to a Rasch model indicating evidence of internal scale validity. The performances of the children in KaTid demonstrated acceptable goodness-of-fit to the Rasch model indicating evidence of validity in response processes. The items in KaTid separated the children into four different levels of TPA. Relationships between the KaTid measures and the parents’ estimations of the child’s daily time management indicated further evidence of construct validity. The results from this study indicate that the items in KaTid, initially defined as time perception, time orientation and time management, all demonstrate acceptable internal scale validity, based on the actual goodness-of-fit statistics used in the analysis. All 51 items support a potential unidimensional construct, here named TPA. In this unidimensional construct time perception, time orientation and time management can be seen as different levels of complexity in time processing ability rather than as separate constructs. The aim of Study II was to empirically investigate the hypothesized relation between children’s TPA, daily TM and self-rated autonomy. Participants were children aged 6 – 11 years with disabilities: Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD), Autism Spectrum Disorders (ASD), mild or moderate intellectual disabilities, or with neurological disease such as CP or MMC (n=118). TPA was measured with the instrument KaTid, daily TM with a parent scale and a scale for Self-rating of autonomy. All data were transformed to interval measures using applications of Rasch models and then further analysed with correlation and regression analysis. The results demonstrate a moderate significant relation between the parents’ ratings of daily TM and the TPA of the children (r= .513, p<.001), and between the self-rating of autonomy and TPA (r= .306, p<.001). There was also a significant relation between self-ratings of autonomy and the parents’ rating of the children’s daily TM (r= .366, p<.001). Parents’ ratings of their children’s daily TM could explain 25% of the variation in TPA, the children’s age explains 22%, whilst the child’s self-rating of autonomy can explain 9% of the variation in TPA. The three variables together explain 38% of the variation in TPA. The results indicate the viability of the instrument for assessing TPA also in children with disabilities, and that the ability measured by KaTid is relevant for daily time