Italian adaptation of the System Usability and Acceptance Model scale: application to new digital tests for executive functions assessment

The perceived ease of use and attitude towards new technologies are particularly relevant for the effectiveness and implementation of new digital neuropsychological tests. The present work aims to evaluate the psychometric properties of the Usability and Attitude Scale (UAS), an Italian adaptation of the System Usability Scale (SUS) and Technology Adaptation Model Scale (TAM) for children. The study includes 361 children (age 4-8: n=177; age 9-13; n= 184). All participants completed the AdapTol - a new digital assessment tool based on Tower of London Test - and were subsequently required to fill in the UAS. Exploratory Factor Analysis was performed in two groups of age (4-8 and 9-13) separately. In both analyses, the 3 factors extracted explained the 68% of the total variance. The 3 factors included items dealing with usability (F1, 3 items), with expressing the perceived ease of use of the tool (tablet) (F2, 3 items), and concerning the usability perceived by peers (F3, 2 items). Besides good content validity, the questionnaire showed adequate internal consistency (Cronbach's Alpha =.52-.84). In conclusion, the UAS shows good psychometric properties and appears to be a valuable tool for the assessment of the usability and acceptance of new digital neuropsychological tests.