Developing and validating an abbreviated adult reading history questionnaire in the Finnish and Dutch contexts

BackgroundThe adult reading history questionnaire (ARHQ) is frequently used in research on adult dyslexia and family risk for dyslexia. However, this measure is lengthy (23 items), reducing its applicability in studies with extensive assessment batteries.MethodsWe identified the best-performing ARHQ items in a sample of 396 Finnish adults using exploratory factor analysis and item response theory. Consequently, we validated the brief questionnaire in independent Finnish and Dutch samples by comparing its performance with that of the complete questionnaire. We also evaluated how the scores on the questionnaires related to the scores on direct adult reading assessments in the Finnish samples. Finally, we tested how predictive parental questionnaires were of children's skills in the Dutch and one of the Finnish samples.ResultsFive items were selected to construct the short version of ARHQ. All of them relate to childhood/adolescent reading difficulties rather than current adult skills. The scores of the complete ARHQ significantly correlated with those of the abbreviated version in all samples. Moreover, in one of the samples, direct reading assessment scores had a stronger correlation with the short ARHQ than with the full version. Additionally, across all three samples parental scores on the short ARHQ were at least as predictive of children's reading skills as the complete ARHQ.ConclusionsThe short ARHQ proved to be on a par with the complete version in its usefulness for identifying adults with dyslexia. Future research should investigate whether the five selected items can effectively serve as a brief screening measure for adults with dyslexia in languages other than Finnish and Dutch. What is already known about this topicThe adult reading history questionnaire (ARHQ) is known for its high dyslexia identification accuracy in adult samples.Recently, an abbreviated version of the ARHQ has been developed in the US (Feng et al., 2022) appearing to be a good alternative to the full version.What this paper addsThis study developed and validated a short version of ARHQ using Finnish and Dutch samples; the present short version with five items is very similar to the one recently developed in the US, which suggests the generalisability of the previous findings across contexts.Implications for theory, policy or practiceThe short ARHQ is a more convenient alternative to the complete version: when completed by parents, it is at least as predictive of children's reading skills as the full version and may thus be used to facilitate more targeted early interventions and/or support and more research with at-risk children.The short ARHQ mostly consists of childhood-related items, which makes it a useful measure for identifying adults who had early difficulties that resolved over time and can be used in future research focusing on factors predictive of resolving dyslexia.