Development of a social dependency scale.

Social dependence was defined in terms of three capacities identified as necessary for the performance of an adult role. The three capacities are everyday self-care competence, mobility competence, and social competence. Measurement of these concepts was facilitated through the use of 12 6-point scales (4 for each capacity). Scores were then computed for each capacity (range 4-24) and for all three capacities together (range 12-72). Operationally, social dependence was defined as the sum of the individual's scores in the three areas: everyday self-care competence, mobility competence, and social competence. The revised instrument was tested on 60 subjects with advanced diseases to determine its reliability. The reliability coefficient alpha was .90, and the standardized-item alpha was .91.