Arc’s Self Determination Scale
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Type of Measure: Arc’s Self Determination Scale is a self-report measure of self-determination designed for use by adolescents with mild intellectual disabilities and learning disabilities. The tool was designed to assist students in evaluating their beliefs about themselves so that they may work collaboratively with educators and others to identify individual areas of strength and limitations. The scale is subdivided into four conceptually distinct subscales: 1) self and family care, which includes items that measure basic daily living activities; 2) management, which includes items measuring the degree to which students handle their interactions with the environment; 3) recreation activity, which contains items that indicate the youth’s recreational and leisure time activities; and 4) social and vocational activities, which contain items that measure the adolescent’s social involvement and vocational goals, plans, and activities.
Target Population: Adolescents with mild intellectual disabilities and learning disabilities
Measurement properties and previous use: Domains and subdomains of the Scale were derived based on information collected from a series of structured interviews with a sample adults/adolescents who had varying degress of intellectual disability (N = 408). A series of self-report measures were used to examine each characteristic of self-determination, and a multiple discriminant function analysis was conducted to identify essential characteristics that are important for distinguishing between people with intellectual disability who were self-determined and those who were not (i.e. autonomy, self-regulation, psychological empowerment, and self-realization). Survey items for each domain were derived from other self-report measures or were generated based on author recommendations.
The validation sample was divided into two dichotomous groups based on performance of behaviors generally agreed upon as reflecting self-determination. Analyses indicated that, on measures of each of the four essential characteristics, there were significant differences between individuals who engaged in behaviors reflecting self-determination and those who did not. Construct validity was further assessed via several factor analyses (see Wehmeyer’s (1995) procedural guidelines manual for detailed review).
Languages: English
Authors and Citation: Wehmeyer, M. L. (1995). The Arc’s Self-Determination Scale: Procedural Guidelines.
Licence: This measure is freely available online, and may be used along with proper citiation.
Link to measure: Arc’s Self Determination Scale
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