Ontario Child Health Study: Reliability and Validity of the General Functioning Subscale of the McMaster Family Assessment Device

Byles, John A.; Byrne, Carolyn; Boyle, Michael H.; Offord, David R.

doi:10.1111/j.1545-5300.1988.00097.x

Cited by 712 publications

(558 citation statements)

References 9 publications

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“…(3) Family functioning was measured with the 12-item general functioning scale of the Family Assessment Device. 16 It can be scored either as a continuous scale ranging from 12 to 48 or as a categorical measure with a score of 27 or greater defined as 'dysfunctional'. (4) In addition to the SF-36, a more disease-specific sub-jective health measure (the CF-12) relevant to cystic fibrosis patients was developed for use on this project (see Appendix 1).…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Gene therapy for cystic fibrosis: a psychosocial study of trial participants

Blair¹,

Kacser

Porteous

1998

Gene Ther

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Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Of these 20, three were subsequently excluded from the main study due to illness and one because sufficient patients had been recruited to meet the target number. 16 Findings are reported on the 16 trial participants with a brief commentary on the four excluded patients.…”

Section: Patient Recruitmentmentioning

confidence: 99%

Gene therapy for cystic fibrosis: a psychosocial study of trial participants

Blair¹,

Kacser

Porteous

1998

Gene Ther

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“…Based on the McMaster model of family functioning it assesses structural and organisational characteristics that distinguish between healthy and unhealthy families (Epstein et al, 1983). Good psychometric properties have been reported in medical cohorts with alpha coefficients ranging from 0.57 to 0.86 (Kabacoff et al, 1990) with previous use in an oncology setting (Byles et al, 1988). High scores are interpreted as evidence of family dysfunction.…”

Section: Family Functioningmentioning

confidence: 99%

Factors associated with emotional and behavioural problems among school age children of breast cancer patients

et al. 2005

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To identify factors linked with emotional and behavioural problems in school age (6-to 17-year-old) children of women with breast cancer. Reports of children's emotional and behavioural problems were obtained from patient mothers, their healthy partners, the children's teacher and adolescents using the Child Behaviour Checklist and Mental Health subscale of the Child Health Questionnaire. Parents reported on their own level of depression and, for patients only, their quality of life. Family functioning was assessed using the Family Assessment Device and Cohesion subscale of the Family Environment Scale. Using a cross-sectional within groups design, assessments were obtained (N ¼ 107 families) where the patients were 3 -36 months postdiagnosis. Risk of problems in children were linked with low levels of family cohesion, low affective responsiveness and parental over-involvement as reported by both child and mother. Adolescents reported family communication issues, which were associated with externalising behaviour problems. Maternal depression was related to child internalising problems, particularly in girls. Whether the mother was currently on or off chemotherapy was not associated with child problems nor was time since cancer diagnosis. These findings held across child age. Where mothers have early stage breast cancer, a substantial minority of their school-aged children have emotional and behavioural problems. Such cases are characterised by the existence of maternal depression and poor family communication, rather than by the mother's treatment status or time since diagnosis. Targeted treatments, which focus on maternal depression and family communication may benefit the children and, through improved relationships, enhance the patients' quality of life.

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“…Validity of the instrument has been established in that its subscales discriminate between families rated as unhealthy and healthy by mental health clinicians. 14,19 Only the General Functioning subscale was used in the current study. It assesses the overall health/pathology of the family.…”

Section: Instrumentsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Previously, reliability of this subscale has been established with a Cronbach's alpha of 0.92. 19 The Perceived Social Support Scale was used to measure social support. 20 The 12-item scale is a self-report measure of subjectively assessed social support from family, friends, and significant others.…”

Section: Instrumentsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Comparison of Psychosocial Adjustment of Mothers and Fathers of High-Risk Infants in the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit

1999

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OBJECTIVE:To compare the psychosocial adjustment of mothers and fathers to the birth of a premature or critically ill infant hospitalized in the neonatal intensive care unit (NICU). STUDY DESIGN:Using a comparative design, we studied 165 mother and father pairs of highrisk neonates. Mothers were 29.1 Ϯ 6.7 and fathers were 30.7 Ϯ 6.8 years old. All infants were hospitalized in the NICU. Couples completed questionnaires in either English or Spanish during the infant's NICU stay. RESULTS:Mothers were more poorly adjusted and were more anxious, hostile, and depressed than fathers, but both parents experienced levels of emotional distress significantly above normative values. Mothers and fathers reported equal levels of family functioning and social support and shared similar feelings of control related to the health status of their infant. CONCLUSION:The birth of an infant who requires care in the NICU environment is highly stressful for both parents. Physicians, nurses, and other health professionals working in the NICU should assess the psychosocial adjustment in both parents, but mothers may require more intense education and counseling to reduce the distress they experience.More than 100,000 infants are admitted to neonatal intensive care units (NICUs) each year. 1 Both mothers and fathers of infants in the NICU face many uncertainties, including their infant's future, their reaction to the infant's birth, their ability to safeguard an infant at risk for cardiopulmonary arrest, and the financial impact of the infant's illness on the family. 2-7 The highly technical environment of the NICU can overwhelm parents and increase their perception that their baby is abnormal or vulnerable. 8 Because mothers have been the predominant focus of previous research, the purpose of the current study was to compare the psychosocial responses of mothers and fathers to the NICU hospitalization of their infant.Several researchers have identified specific aspects of the NICU environment that cause distress in parents. 4,9 However, a comparison of mothers' and fathers' stress in relation to the NICU has been the focus of only one study. Miles and colleagues 11 found that mothers reported the NICU to be more stressful than fathers did, and both found the environment more stressful during the first week of NICU hospitalization than 1 week later. Stress related to parental role alteration decreased more in mothers than in fathers. Paternal anxiety was related to adopting the parental role and to uncertainty related to the child's future. In contrast, maternal anxiety was more diffuse and not directly related to these factors. This study was limited by a small sample size (23 couples) and focused on a comparison of mothers' and fathers' anxiety rather than the broader area of psychosocial adjustment.Previous research related to parental psychosocial adaptation to the birth of a premature or critically ill infant has focused almost exclusively on mothers. 2,3,5,7 When both parents have been included, researchers have focused on the post...

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Ontario Child Health Study: Reliability and Validity of the General Functioning Subscale of the McMaster Family Assessment Device

Cited by 712 publications

References 9 publications

Gene therapy for cystic fibrosis: a psychosocial study of trial participants

Gene therapy for cystic fibrosis: a psychosocial study of trial participants

Factors associated with emotional and behavioural problems among school age children of breast cancer patients

Comparison of Psychosocial Adjustment of Mothers and Fathers of High-Risk Infants in the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit

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