Date Presented 03/27/20
Adolescents divide their time among occupation domains essential for developing daily life management and well-being into adulthood. The Time Organization and Participation Scale (TOPS) assesses self-perception and emotional implications of time-organization abilities. This study’s results present TOPS’s internal reliability for adolescents and their parents and identify gender-related differences. Time organization should be considered for assessing and developing interventions among adolescents.
Primary Author and Speaker: Liron Lamash
Additional Authors and Speakers: Sara Rosenblum
Contributing Authors: Tsameret Ricon
PURPOSE: Time organization is defined as behaviors that aim at achieving effective use of time while performing certain goal-directed activities. Adolescents learn how to organize their time among occupation domains. This is essential ability for developing daily life management and wellbeing into adulthood. The Time Organisation and Participation Scale (TOPS; Rosenblum, 2012) was developed following interviews and a literature review based on concepts presented by the World Health Organization (2001) and the person-environment occupation model (Law et al. 1996). The TOPS assesses self-perception and emotional implications of time organization abilities. This study examined the TOPS internal reliability among typical adolescents (12–18 years) and their parents, assessed correlations between adolescents and their parents’ reports, and identified age and gender-related differences.
DESIGN: In this descriptive research, the convenience sample of participants were recruited by post-professional occupational therapists. It consisted of 75 typically developed adolescents aged 12 to 18 years (M = 15.06, SD = 1.39) and one parent each, aged 36 to 59 years (M = 46.31, SD = 5.55). Participants with significant physical or mental health conditions were excluded.
METHOD: Data were collected using a demographic questionnaire (e.g. age, gender, residence and socioeconomic status) and the TOPS. The TOPS was designated for gathering information about time organization in daily life performance in relation to three domains: (a) pace of daily task performance, (b) manner in which activities are organized throughout the day, and (c) frequency of emotional responses following disorganization in time. Two open-ended questions related to the influence of change in routines and various stimuli on the individual’s ability to organize time. We used the adolescent self-report version and the parent version. Data analyses included descriptive statistics for demographics and TOPS scores. Internal consistency reliability of both versions was examined using Cronbach’s alpha. We conducted Pearson’s correlations to examine correlations between the adolescents’ and the parents’ perspectives and paired-samples t-tests with Bonferroni correction (p < .01) to examine differences between those perceptions. Two-way MANOVA were implemented to examine differences that resulted from age or gender.
RESULTS: Results indicate the TOPS exhibited high internal consistency reliability with alpha coefficient of .89 in the adolescent version and .94 in the parent version. Significant correlation was found between adolescent and parent versions in the TOPS total score (r =.72, p < .001). The adolescents reported a significantly higher level of distraction by various stimuli while performing a time-limited task compared to their parents (t(74) = -4.56, p < .001). Finally, according to the adolescents’ perceptions, the girls reported significantly more emotional responses following disorganization in time (F(1,70) = 6.96, p < .01, ηp2 = .09). No significant age differences were found.
CONCLUSION: Results demonstrate the TOPS is reliable for assessing adolescents’ time organization. Findings show significant correlation between adolescents’ and parents’ perceptions. Gender differences are related to emotional response following time disorganization, whereas no age differences were found.
IMPACT STATEMENT: This study expands the knowledge about time organization patterns of adolescents and the strong adolescent–parent agreement in this area. These findings should be considered when developing interventions, allocating services, and creating policies to meet the unique needs of adolescents. Moreover, the TOPS is a powerful tool for clinical and research purposes among adolescents.
References
Law, M., Cooper, B., Strong, S., Stewart, D., Rigby, P., & Letts, L. (1996). The person-environment-occupation model: A transactive approach to occupational performance. Canadian Journal of Occupational Therapy, 63, 9–23. doi:10.1177%2F000841749606300103
Rosenblum, S. (2012). Validity and reliability of the Time Organisation and Participation Scale (TOPS). Neuropsychological Rehabilitation, 22, 65–84. doi:10.1080/09602011.2011.640465
World Health Organization. (2007). International classification of functioning, disability and health: Children and youth version. Geneva, Switzerland: Author.
