Reliability and validity of the family state and functioning assessment scale

Abstract

Background: Family significantly influences the health of family members in both positive and negative ways.
There are limited instruments in Thailand for assessing family state and functioning on adult patients.

Objectives: To examine the validity and reliability of the family state and functioning assessment scale (FSFAS)
which was designed to assess the extent one perceived family issues and functioning.

Methods: The scale was conducted on 1,200 Thai adults: 800 outpatients attending hospitals and 400
participants in the community. Of the sample, 70% were women and the mean age was 50.4 years. The psychometric properties of the scale were examined in terms of construct validity and reliability. Exploratory factor analysis with principal components analysis and varimax rotation was performed to assess factor structures. Cronbach’s alpha coefficient was calculated to estimate reliability.

Results: Exploratory factor analysis showed that the scale had a five-factor structure (support, discipline,
communication and problem solving, emotional status and relationship) that accounted for 57.3% of the total
variance. The final version of the scale consisted of 25 items with a Cronbach’s alpha coefficient of 0.87 for
the total and 0.70 - 0.84 for the subscales.

Conclusions: The scale has acceptable factorial validity and internal consistency reliability which can be a useful instrument for assessing family state and functioning.