Active Support Measure: a multilevel exploratory factor analysis.

The team looked at the 12-item Active Support Measure. This short checklist rates how well staff help adults with intellectual disability join in everyday activities.

They ran a multilevel exploratory factor analysis on scores from group homes. The goal was to see if the items clump into clear skill areas.

Two clean factors emerged. Factor 1 covers staff efforts to engage residents in tasks. Factor 2 covers warm, respectful talk and body language.

The two-factor model fit the data well. Auditors can now score each domain separately instead of using one total.

Oliver et al. (2002) showed that active-support training boosts resident engagement, but only for adults with severe ID and no challenging behavior. The new measure gives you a quick way to check if staff still use those skills years later.

Dudley et al. (2019) also built a staff scale with factor analysis, yet theirs targets physical-activity support. Both papers prove brief tools can reliably capture different staff behaviors.

Cashon et al. (2013) validated a 12-item resident satisfaction scale in the same setting. Together the studies let you audit both staff actions and resident happiness with one quick packet.

You now have a two-factor lens for supervision. Score Factor 1 when you want more activity participation. Score Factor 2 when you want kinder interactions. Separate feedback helps staff see exactly where to improve, making audits faster and training sharper.