The Research

Naomi’s research: ‘Developing a methodology for evaluating the effectiveness of Talkabout: A social skills programme.’

Naomi’s PhD, which she has recently completed, included testing the psychometric properties of the TASS. This study had 3 research questions:

Is the internal structure of the TASS robust?

Principle component analysis (PCA) was used to establish the separate components of form 4 of the TASS and Cronbach’s alpha was used to analyse the internal consistency of each unidimensional subscale. PCA provided preliminary evidence to support the hierarchy and high alpha values for all subscales suggest that the internal structure of the TASS is robust.

Is the TASS a reliable measure of social skills?

The test-retest reliability of the TASS was analysed using Pearson’s r and ICC (intraclass correlation coefficients). ICC values of ≥0.70 were observed in 91% of analyses suggesting that the TASS demonstrates sufficient reliability.

Is the TASS a valid measure of social skills?

Construct validity was analysed by evaluating convergent and divergent validity with the SSIS SELb+MHS (Elliott et al, 2020). Form 4 of the TASS demonstrated sufficient evidence of construct validity.

In summary, this initial study provides enough psychometric support for the TASS to be used as a relatively robust UK based assessment of social communication while Naomi continues further psychometric investigations of the assessment.

If you would like to have more information on Naomi’s work please contact her through Speaking Space (Romsey) Ltd – www.speakingspace.co.uk