ScholarOne - TEST-RETEST RELIABILITY OF THE PICTORIAL SCALE OF WATER
COMPETENCE AND ITS RELATIONSHIP WITH ACTUAL WATER COMPETENCE
Abstract
The Pictorial Scale of Perceived Water Competence (PSPWC) has been
recently de-veloped and the first psychometric studies confirmed good
face and construct validi-ty. Additional research is needed for the
ongoing validation, including test-retest reliability and the
relationship with actual water competence. For that aim the PSPWC was
administered to 124 children, aged from 5 to 8 years. A subtotal of 55
children repeated the PSPWC procedure one week later for test-retest
reliability, while the other 69 children performed the fully aligned
Actual Aquatic Skills Test (AAST) in an indoor swimming pool in order to
investigate the relationship with actual water competence. The results
revealed good test-retest reliability, both at the global level (ICC =
0.81, n = 55) and at individual skill level (Weighted kappa
coef-ficients from 0.58 to 0.90 ), without any significant difference
between the two test occasions. The relationship between PSPWC and AAST
total scores was moder-ate (r = 64, n = 69) and there was no significant
difference between total scores of actual and perceived water
competencies. However, children overestimated their competence in three
specific skills: the back star, swimming on the front and diving in deep
water. These results underline specific situations in which a higher
self-perception of one’s actual water competence level is a risk factor
which could have consequences on children’s water safety. These results
confirm that the PSPWC is reliable and opens new research perspectives
for aquatic education and drowning prevention.