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Measure of Environmental Qualities of Activity Settings (MEQAS)

The MEQAS is an observer-rated questionnaire that allows people observing an activity setting to record observations on different aspects of the activity environment.
This license is for use by Academic and/or Publicly Funded Organizations. For information about license types, fees, and translations, please review: License Types and Fees.

About MEQAS

The observer-rated Measure of Environmental Qualities of Activity Settings (MEQAS) is a research and clinical tool designed to measure opportunity-related qualities of leisure activity settings for young people (with or without disabilities). The MEQAS-48 has evidence of reliability and validity, and contains the following scales: Opportunities for Social Activities, Opportunities for Physical Activities, Pleasant Physical Environment, Opportunities for Choice, Opportunities for Personal Growth, and Opportunities to Interact with Adults. The MEQAS allows researchers to assess comprehensively qualities and affordances of activity settings, and can be used to design and assess environmental qualities of programs for young people.

The MEQAS-48 is an expanded version of the MEQAS-32. Testing of the MEQAS-48 was conducted using a more diverse sample of activity settings. Raters completed the original MEQAS questionnaire (MEQAS-66) for 76 youth leisure and life skills activity settings. Scales for the revised measure (MEQAS-48) were determined using a two-step approach: (a) developing a theoretically-based model based on item-to-item linkages, and (b) confirmatory factor analysis. Five of the six MEQAS-32 scales remained and were validated in an independent dataset: Opportunities for Physical Activities, Pleasant Physical Environment, Opportunities for Choice, Opportunities for Personal Growth, and Opportunities to Interact with Adults. Four additional scales were identified in the MEQAS-48: Comfortable Place-related Qualities, Opportunities for Privacy/Relaxation, Opportunities to Interact with Peers, and Opportunities for Cooperative Group Activity. Construct validity was demonstrated through predictions for various types of activities. The MEQAS-48 more completely reflects the original conceptualization of the measure’s content than does the MEQAS-32. Findings suggest the increased utility of the measure due to broader coverage of environmental qualities. The MEQAS-48 can be used to assess environmental qualities for research, program design, and clinical practice.
Application
Measures opportunity-related qualities of leisure activity settings for young people
Users
Research, program design, and clinical practice professionals
Target Population
Children with or without disabilities
Survey Type
Likert scale
Assessment Type
Observational Questionnaire

Training Videos

Access to this tool will also grant users access to the MEQAS to 12 training videos that can be used for MEQAS rater training
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Download Contents
  • MEQAS-32 Manual
  • MEQAS-48 Outcome Measure
  • Blank Grid for MEQAS-48 Box Plots
  • Summary Score Sheet for MEQAS-48 Box Plots
  • MEQAS-48 Electronic Summary Score Sheet
  • MEQAS-48 Electronic Summary Score Sheet for Group Data
  • MEQAS-48 Scoring Information
  • MEQAS-48 Summary Score Sheet
researchers
  • Beata Batorowicz
  • Gillian King
  • Margot McMain-Klein
  • Michelle Gibson
  • Patricia Rigby
  • Theresa Petrenchik
Languages Available
  • English
This license is for by Academic and/or Publicly Funded Organizations. For information about license types, fees, and translations, please review: License Types and Fees.
Publications
  • Gibson, B. E., King, G., Kushki, A., Mistry, B., Thompson, L., Teachman, G., . . . & McMain-Klein, M. (2014). A multi-method approach to studying activity setting participation: Integrating standardized questionnaires, qualitative methods, and physiological measures. Disability and Rehabilitation, 36(19), 1652-1660. doi:10.3109/09638288.2013.863393
  • King, G. (2013). Perspectives on measuring participation: Going forward. Child: Care, Health and Development, 39(4), 466-469. doi:10.1111/cch.12083
  • King, G., Batorowicz, B., Rigby, P., Pinto, M., Thompson, L., & Goh, F. (2014). The leisure activity settings and experiences of youth with severe disabilities. Developmental Neurorehabilitation, 17(4), 259-269. doi:10.3109/17518423.2013.799244
  • King, G., Gibson, B. E., Mistry, B., Pinto, M., Goh, F., Teachman, G., & Thompson, L. (2014). An integrated methods study of the experiences of youth with severe disabilities in leisure activity settings: The importance of belonging, fun, and control and choice. Disability and Rehabilitation, 36(19), 1626-1635. doi:10.3109/09638288.2013.863389
  • King, G., Rigby, P., & Avery, L. (2016). Revised Measure of Environmental Qualities of Activity Settings (MEQAS) for youth leisure and life skills activity settings. Disability and Rehabilitation, 38(15), 1509-1520. doi:10.3109/09638288.2015.1103792
  • King, G., Rigby, P., & Batorowicz, B. (2013). Conceptualizing participation in context for children and youth with disabilities: An activity setting perspective. Disability and Rehabilitation, 35(18), 1578-1585. doi:10.3109/09638288.2012.748836
  • King, G., Rigby, P., Batorowicz, B., McMain-Klein, M., Petrenchik, T., Thompson, L., & Gibson, M. (2014). Development of a direct observation Measure of Environmental Qualities of Activity Settings. Developmental Medicine & Child Neurology, 56(8), 763-769. doi:10.1111/dmcn.12400
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