College of Nursing, University of Illinois at Chicago, Chicago, Illinois 60612-7350, USA.
Nurs Res. 2013 May-Jun;62(3):149-59. doi: 10.1097/NNR.0b013e31828eafe6.
Valid assessment of family functioning can play a vital role in optimizing client outcomes. Because family functioning is influenced by family structure, socioeconomic context, and culture, existing measures of family functioning-primarily developed with nuclear, middle-class European American families-may not be valid assessments of families in diverse populations. The Family Effectiveness Measure was developed to address this limitation.
The aim of this study was to test the Family Effectiveness Measure with data from a primarily low-income African American convenience sample using the Rasch measurement model.
A sample of 607 adult women completed the measure. Rasch analysis was used to assess unidimensionality, response category functioning, item fit, person reliability, differential item functioning by race and parental status, and item hierarchy. Criterion-related validity was tested using correlations with five other variables related to family functioning.
The Family Effectiveness Measure measures two separate constructs: The Effective Family Functioning construct was a psychometrically sound measure of the target construct that was more efficient because of the deletion of 22 items. The Ineffective Family Functioning construct consisted of 16 of those deleted items but was not as strong psychometrically. Items in both constructs evidenced no differential item functioning by race. Criterion-related validity was supported for both.
In contrast to the prevailing conceptualization that family functioning is a single construct, assessed by positively and negatively worded items, use of the Rasch analysis suggested the existence of two constructs. Whereas the Effective Family Functioning scale is a strong and efficient measure of family functioning, the Ineffective Family Functioning scale will require additional item development and psychometric testing.
有效的家庭功能评估可以在优化客户结果方面发挥重要作用。由于家庭功能受到家庭结构、社会经济背景和文化的影响，现有的家庭功能评估方法——主要是针对核心、中产阶级的欧洲裔美国家庭开发的——可能无法有效地评估不同人群的家庭。家庭效能度量表就是为了解决这个问题而开发的。
本研究的目的是使用 Rasch 测量模型，用主要来自低收入非裔美国人群的便利样本数据来检验家庭效能度量表。
一组 607 名成年女性完成了该度量表。Rasch 分析用于评估单维性、反应类别功能、项目拟合、人员可靠性、种族和父母身份的差异项目功能以及项目层次结构。用与家庭功能相关的五个其他变量的相关性来检验效标关联效度。
家庭效能度量表测量了两个不同的结构：有效的家庭功能结构是目标结构的心理测量学上合理的测量，由于删除了 22 个项目，因此更有效率。无效的家庭功能结构由其中的 16 个项目组成，但在心理测量上不够强。两个结构中的项目在种族方面没有差异项目功能。两者都支持效标关联效度。
与普遍的概念化相反，家庭功能是一个单一的结构，由积极和消极的项目来评估，使用 Rasch 分析表明存在两个结构。有效的家庭功能量表是一个强有力且高效的家庭功能评估工具，而无效的家庭功能量表将需要进一步的项目开发和心理测量测试。
