一畫勝千言：兒童圖解強項線上測驗之發展與信效度分析

A Picture is Worth a Thousand Words: Development and Reliability Validity Analysis of Children’s Illustrated Strengths Online Test

臺灣青少年強項測驗簡版採文字形式，僅能施測於國小高年級以上之青少年，若能結合圖解測驗供兒童使用，更能下修施測年齡延伸其貢獻性。研究目的：發展一套針對兒童圖解強項線上測驗，並驗證其信度與效度。研究方法：採用問卷調查法，針對國小中年級學生進行施測。研究流程分為四個步驟；一、由專業設計師繪製符合題意的圖像；二、邀請2位專家評估，以及12位中年級學生進行兒童焦點團體，確認量表圖像的有效性；三、修改完成後，針對300位中年級學生進行正式施測，以驗證性因素分析確認兒童圖解強項線上測驗的建構效度，同時採用生活滿意度量表，以及簡式健康量表作為效標關聯效度的變項。研究結果：一、透過兒童焦點團體及專家評估，發展出33題兒童圖解強項題目；二、三向度的Cronbach’s α 係數為分別為：自己 = .79、他人 = .86、事情 = .81，顯示其具有良好的信度；三、整體適配度在可接受範圍內：在效標部分，與生活滿意度量表及簡式健康量表呈現顯著正相關與負相關。綜合上述，本量表為具信、效度之工具，可供未來及早發現臺灣兒童優勢強項，應用於教育、心理及輔導等研究及實務工作。此外，本研究亦開展出「文本測驗」結合「圖解方式」下修施測年齡之可行性，為兒童的圖解測驗發展補足其研究缺口。

Motivation and Purpose

In positive psychology, who are able to utilize their personal strengths in daily life are more likely to experience positive emotions and a greater sense of well- being. However, the Adolescents’ short strength scale in Taiwan is administered in text, can only be given to upper-grade elementary school students, thereby neglecting younger children, particularly those in lower to middle elementary grades, who may encounter difficulties in comprehending the textual items. This limitation can result in inaccurate assessments and missed opportunities to help children understand their own strengths at an early stage. Therefore, developing an online illustrated questionnaire for children and examining its reliability and validity could lower the age threshold for assessment and further enhance its applicability and academic contribution.

Literature Review

To help children improve their reading comprehension, previous research has shown that images can provide additional information, make the text more specific, and improve the coherence of the text (Alesandrini & Rigney, 1981; Levie & Lentz, 1982; Levin et al., 1987; Pan & Pan, 2009). It shows that presenting both images and text can significantly enhance reading comprehension. The questionnaire survey also showed that students prefer this presentation method (Haiyan, 2018; Monkman et al., 2020; Pan & Pan, 2009; Purnell & Solman, 1991; Wang et al., 2014). Additionally, international studies on illustrated questionnaires have demonstrated acceptable reliability and validity, while also reducing missing data and improving respondents’ understanding (Kurimoto et al., 2013; Suzuki et al., 2010). However, the development of pictorial assessments in Taiwan remains in its early stages. Many children have difficulty comprehending the meaning of items on self-report questionnaires, which leads to data inaccuracies and limits the ability to accurately capture participants’ actual conditions. To support children in identifying their personal strengths from an early school age, it is essential to incorporate visual elements into the assessment design to enhance their understanding of the item content. If it could combine with illustrated questionnaire for use by children below the middle grades, it would be more contributory by extending the testing age range downward and promote the development of comprehensive and long-term psychological well-being education. Character strengths have been found to be significantly associated with both positive and negative aspects of mental health. In terms of criterionrelated validity, previous studies have also confirmed the validity of using the Life Satisfaction Scale and Brief Health Scale as criterion measures. Therefore, the present study adopts these two instruments to examine the criterion-related validity of the newly developed scale.

Method

This study was informed by the research procedure outlined by Oliveira et al. (2023). Using a questionnaire survey, tests were administered to middle-grade elementary school students. The research process was divided into four steps: (1) Professional designers drew images that fit the meaning of questions. (2) Two experts with doctoral degree were invited to evaluate the appropriateness of the illustrations: One was a counselor specializing in child and adolescent counseling, and the other was an elementary school teacher with over 10 years of teaching experience. (3) A focus group interview was conducted with 12 middle-grade students to confirm the effectiveness of the scale’s images. (4) After modifications, convenience sampling was employed to collect data from 328 middle-grade students in southern Taiwan. Participants anonymously completed the children’s illustrated strengths online test, while using the Life Satisfaction Scale and Brief Health Scale as variables for criterion-related validity.

Research Results

Outlier and duplicate responses were removed, and reliability analyses along with confirmatory factor analysis were conducted. (1) Through focus groups with children and expert evaluations, 33 items for children’s illustrated questionnaire were developed. (2) The Cronbach’s α coefficient for the three dimensions were: Self = .79, Others = .86, Things = .81, indicating good reliability. (3) Regarding construct validity, confirmatory factor analysis indicated an acceptable overall model fit. (4) For concurrent validity, the Life Satisfaction Scale and the Brief Health Scale were used as positive and negative criteria, respectively. The analysis revealed that the test items were significantly positively correlated with the Life Satisfaction Scale, and most items were significantly negatively correlated with the Brief Health Scale.

Discussion and Recommendations

This study is the first integration of images and text in the design of a children’s strengths assessment in Taiwan, addressing the current research gap in pictorial testing. Strengths most strongly associated with life satisfaction included Optimism, Self-esteem, and Love, aligning with findings from prior studies and supporting the scale’s concurrent validity. However, the study has three notable limitations: (1) Certain strengths (e.g., Forgiveness) may be conceptually too complex for elementary students, leading to lower factor loadings. (2) Reducing the number of items in subscales may lower internal consistency; therefore, future applications should consider supplementing with the full version when necessary. (3) The sample was limited to middle-grade students, excluding younger children and other child populations, thus limiting the generalizability. Expanding the scale to diverse age groups is recommended. Additionally, the study did not compare the pictorial version with the original text-only version. Future research could explore differences between the pictorial and textual formats, as well as between online and paper-based administrations. In summary, this scale is a reliable and valid tool for early identification of strengths in Taiwanese children and can be applied in educational, psychological, and counseling research and practical work. Additionally, this study explores the feasibility of lowering the testing age through the combination of “text tests” with “graphic methods,” filling the research gap in the development of graphic tests for children. Future research can explore the role of strengths training in enhancing children’s life satisfaction and positive development, contributing to the advancement of positive education in Taiwan.