Diagnosing Selective Mutism: A Critical Review of Measures for Clinical Practice and Research

European Child & Adolescent Psychiatry

Rodrigues Pereira, C., Ensink, J. B. M., et al. (2023).

European Child & Adolescent Psychiatry, 32, 1821-1839.

This systematic review investigates the psychometric properties of assessments that are within the scope of practice for a speech-language pathologist to use with children with selective mutism.

Fonds Stichting Gezondheidszorg Spaarneland (Netherlands)

2010-2021

Original research studies

91

<p>Assessment tools demonstrated the following psychometric data when use to identify selective mutism in children:</p> <ul> <li><strong>The Selective Mutism Questionnaire (SMQ):</strong> The SMQ had moderate to excellent internal consistency (0.70-0.97 total scale). It also had significant correlations with two social anxiety scales, indicating convergent validity. It was sensitive to treatment change in small samples.</li> <li><strong>The School Speech Questionnaire (SSQ):</strong> The SSQ had an internal consistency of 0.96 for the 9-item version. In Canada and the United States, internal consistency ranged between 0.76 and 0.81 for the 6-10 item versions. It was also sensitive to treatment change.</li> <li><strong>The Frankfurter Scale of Selective Mutism (FSSM):</strong> The FSSM had internal consistency of 0.90 for the diagnostic scale and 0.88 for the severity scale. It was found to have satisfactory to excellent discriminant validity and good convergent validity.</li> <li><strong>The Speech Situations Questionnaire (SpSQ):</strong> The Parent version of the SpSQ had good to excellent internal consistency (0.82-0.92). The SpSQ Teacher version had excellent internal consistency (0.95-0.96).</li> <li><strong>The Verbal and Nonverbal Social Interactions Skills (VNSIS):</strong> The VNSIS Parent version had internal consistency ranging from 0.58 to 0.78 for the verbal and social skill subscale, 0.71 to 0.83 for the nonverbal social skills subscale, and 0.78 to 0.85 for the nonverbal cooperation subscale. The Teacher version had internal consistency ranging from 0.80 to 0.90 for the verbal and social skill subscale, 0.86 to 0.94 for the nonverbal social skills subscale, and 0.88 to 0.92 for the nonverbal cooperation subscale.</li> <li><strong>The Parental Questionnaire on Mute Behavior (PQMB):</strong> The PQMB had an internal consistency ranging from 0.89 to 0.95.</li> </ul>