The Mediating Role of the Environment in Explaining Participation of Children and Youth With and Without Disabilities Across Home, School, and Community

• Published in: Archives of physical medicine and rehabilitation Vol. 95; no. 5; pp. 908 - 917
• Main Authors: Anaby, Dana, PhD, Law, Mary, PhD, Coster, Wendy, PhD, Bedell, Gary, PhD, Khetani, Mary, ScD, Avery, Lisa, MSc, Teplicky, Rachel, MSc
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: United States Elsevier Inc 01.05.2014
• Subjects: Adolescent; Child; Child, Preschool; Cross-Sectional Studies; Disability Evaluation; Disabled children; Disabled Children - psychology; Disabled Children - rehabilitation; Environment; Female; Humans; Male; Parents - psychology; Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation; Rehabilitation; Residence Characteristics; Schools; Social Environment; Social Participation; Surveys and Questionnaires; structural equation modeling; CI; CFI; Disabled children; root mean square error of approximation; Social participation; RMSEA; health condition; PEM-CY; Environment; confidence interval; SEM; Rehabilitation; HC; Participation and Environment Measure for Children and Youth; comparative fit index
• ISSN: 0003-9993; 1532-821X
• DOI: 10.1016/j.apmr.2014.01.005

Abstract Objective To test the effect of personal and environmental factors on children's participation across 3 different settings (home, school, community); to ascertain the interrelations between these factors; and to propose and test 3 models, 1 for each setting, using structural equation modeling. Design Survey, cross-sectional study, and model testing. Setting Web-based measures were completed by parents residing in North America in their home/community. Participants Parents (N=576) of children and youth with and without disabilities, (n=282 and n=294, respectively), ages 5 to 17 years (mean age, 11y 2mo), completed the Participation and Environment Measure for Children and Youth (PEM-CY). Interventions Not applicable. Main Outcome Measures The PEM-CY measured levels of participation frequency and involvement, as well as environmental barriers and supports of participation, in each of the following 3 settings: home, school, and community. Information about the child's health condition and functional issues was also collected. Results All 3 models fit the data well (comparative fit index, .89–.97) and explained 50% to 64% of the variance of participation frequency and involvement. Environmental barriers and supports served as significant mediators between child/personal factors (income, health condition, functional issues) and participation outcomes, across all models. The effect of the environment was most pronounced, however, in the community setting. Conclusions Our findings highlight the unique role of the environment in explaining children's participation across different settings and, therefore, support the development of interventions targeting modifiable environmental factors.