The Development of an Impact-on-Family Scale: Preliminary Findings

While descriptions of the effects of chronic childhood illness on the family appear in the literature, there have been few attempts to develop a formal measure of this impact. As part of a longitudinal study of chronic illness in childhood, the development of a measure was undertaken. The conceptual framework and methodology employed in scale development are described. A 24-item scale is presented which elicits variability in response and which...