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ORIGINAL RESEARCH article

Front. Psychiatry
Sec. Autism
Volume 15 - 2024 | doi: 10.3389/fpsyt.2024.1443078

Cultural adaptation and preliminary validation of the Flexibility Scale for Spain

Provisionally accepted
Ekaine Rodríguez-Armendariz Ekaine Rodríguez-Armendariz 1*Valentina Petrolini Valentina Petrolini 1Isabel Martín-González Isabel Martín-González 1Maria Juncal-Ruiz Maria Juncal-Ruiz 2Agustin Vicente Agustin Vicente 1,3*
  • 1 University of the Basque Country, Bilbao, Spain
  • 2 University of Cantabria, Santander, Cantabria, Spain
  • 3 IKERBASQUE Basque Foundation for Science, Bilbao, Basque Country, Spain

The final, formatted version of the article will be published soon.

    Background: Individuals exhibit varying degrees of flexibility depending on different characteristics, conditions, and diagnoses. The Flexibility Scale is a comprehensive informant-report measure used to assess multiple aspects of flexibility in autistic and non-autistic children and youth, with an emphasis on cognitive aspects. This tool has not been adapted nor validated for use in Spain.In this paper we aim to provide a culturally adapted and validated version of the Flexibility Scale for Spain. We detail the procedure followed by our research team to obtain a cultural adaptation of the scale for Spain, including forward and back translations, cognitive interviews, feedback from experts, and preliminary validation. Our participants in the validation process were 75 autistic and 39 typically developing children and adolescents between the ages of 6 and 17.We reached a culturally adapted and preliminary validated version of the Flexibility Scale for Spain (Escala de Flexibilidad).We make the scale available to researchers and practitioners working in Spain. This contributes to laying the groundwork for further testing and adaptations in Spanish-speaking countries and communities worldwide.

    Keywords: Flexibility Scale, cultural adaptation, Validation, Autism Spectrum Disorder, Flexibility, Spain

    Received: 03 Jun 2024; Accepted: 16 Sep 2024.

    Copyright: © 2024 Rodríguez-Armendariz, Petrolini, Martín-González, Juncal-Ruiz and Vicente. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.

    * Correspondence:
    Ekaine Rodríguez-Armendariz, University of the Basque Country, Bilbao, Spain
    Agustin Vicente, University of the Basque Country, Bilbao, Spain

    Disclaimer: All claims expressed in this article are solely those of the authors and do not necessarily represent those of their affiliated organizations, or those of the publisher, the editors and the reviewers. Any product that may be evaluated in this article or claim that may be made by its manufacturer is not guaranteed or endorsed by the publisher.