Use of the Impact on Family Scale in Children with Tic Disorders: Descriptive Data, Validity, and Tic Severity Impact

ABSTRACT

Individuals with tic disorders are at risk for experiencing functional impairment in a variety of domains. However, the impact of tic disorders on family functioning remains unclear partly because psychometrically sound assessment instruments with normative data from a tic disorder population do not exist. The current study provides preliminary normative, descriptive, and internal consistency data for the Impact on Family Scale (IFS): an instrument designed to measure the impact of children's chronic illness on family functioning. Parents of 45 children diagnosed with a tic disorder completed the IFS. The relationship between IFS scores, tic severity, and measures of comorbid symptomology was also investigated. Significant correlations were found between the IFS Total score and measures of ADHD symptomology, tic severity, depressive symptoms, and internalizing and externalizing symptoms. Regression analyses show that tic severity did not significantly predict family impact after accounting for variance associated with ADHD and internalizing symptoms.

KEYWORDS:

• Impact on Family Scale
• children
• tic disorders
• descriptive data
• validity