Family Quality of Life Survey (FQOLS-2006): Evaluation of Internal Consistency, Construct, and Criterion Validity for Socioeconomically Disadvantaged Families

ABSTRACT

Aims: The purpose of this study was to test the psychometric properties of the Family Quality of Life Survey (FQOLS-2006) when used with urban families predominantly from socioeconomically disadvantaged backgrounds. Methods: Data gathered from 193 family caregivers using the FQOLS-2006 were subjected to reliability analyses, confirmatory factor analyses, and correlational analyses to test the internal consistency of the scales (reliability), factor structure of the scales (construct validity), and convergence between the long and short versions of the tool (criterion validity). Results: Internal consistency of the 54-item total FQOL scale was excellent (α = .89), while that of the six-item domain subscales ranged from moderate to strong (α = .46–.81). Although the subscale-level FQOL factor structure demonstrated good fit, some of the item-level factor loadings within each of the domains were low. Correlations between scores derived from the long and short versions ranged from moderate to strong (r = .37–.73). Conclusions: Although the internal consistency of the scales ranged from moderate to strong, the FQOLS-2006 had only a moderate degree of construct and criterion validity when used with a sample consisting predominantly of minorities from socioeconomically disadvantaged backgrounds.

KEYWORDS:

• Confirmatory factor analysis
• developmental disabilities
• family quality of life survey
• family outcomes
• FQOLS-2006

Acknowledgments

The authors would like to acknowledge the work of the research assistants on this project, Whitney Hoard, Sophia Mammen, Beth Kuczma, Julia Hernandez, and Erin Skotzke who assisted with data collection, data entry, and preliminary data analysis. We also acknowledge Shan Ran, Research Design and Analysis Unit (RDA), Wayne State University and Nidhi Talwar of Consulting for Statistics, Computing and Analytics Research (CSCAR), University of Michigan for providing statistical consultations.

Declaration of Interest

The authors report no conflicts of interest. The authors alone are responsible for the content and writing of the article.

About the Authors

Preethy S. Samuel, PhD, is an Assistant Professor of Occupational Therapy in the Department of Health Care Sciences, Eugene Applebaum College of Pharmacy and Health Sciences and a faculty affiliate of Michigan's University Center for Excellence in Developmental Disabilities at Wayne State University, Detroit, MI. Her dual training in occupational therapy and sociology has equipped her to focus on the quality of life measurement challenges. Wassim Tarraf, PhD, is an Assistant Professor at the Institute of Gerontology and in the Department of Healthcare Sciences, Eugene Applebaum College of Pharmacy and Health Sciences at Wayne State University, Detroit, MI. Christina Marsack, PhD, is an Assistant Professor in Social Work in the College of Health and Human Services at Eastern Michigan University. At the time of the study, she was a doctoral student at Wayne State University's School of Social Work and a special education teacher consultant in the Troy School District (Michigan).

Additional information

Funding

The contents of this article were developed by funding from:. (a)Faculty Research Award Program of the Eugene Applebaum College of Pharmacy and Health Sciences, Wayne State University, Detroit. (b)The US Department of Education's National Institute of Disability Research and Rehabilitation (EDPR# H133F080024). However, those contents do not necessarily represent the policy of the Department of Education, and you should not assume endorsement by the Federal Government.