Construct validity of the Family Outcomes Survey - Revised expanded helpfulness scale.
The FOS-RE B is ready for everyday use to measure caregiver views of ECI helpfulness.
01Research in Context
What this study did
The team checked if the Family Outcomes Survey-Revised Expanded (FOS-RE B) really measures what it claims. They ran a confirmatory factor analysis on caregivers of young children in early-childhood-intervention programs.
The goal was to see if the survey’s questions group into the expected helpfulness factors and if scores line up with family well-being.
What they found
The survey kept its promised factor structure. Internal consistency was good and scores moved in step with separate family well-being measures.
In plain words, the FOS-RE B is a trustworthy way to capture how helpful caregivers think your ECI services are.
How this fits with other research
Peters-Scheffer et al. (2008) did the same kind of math check on the Behavior Flexibility Rating Scale. Both studies show caregiver-completed tools can hit solid reliability when items are short and clear.
Palka Bayard de Volo et al. (2021) also validated a brief caregiver tool, the Oral Status Survey, for adults with ID. Together these papers build a pattern: quick staff-or-parent ratings can be both valid and doable in real services.
Anonymous (2017) tested a French family-quality-of-life scale. Like Waschl et al. (2021), they used confirmatory factor analysis and got strong internal consistency. The two studies don’t clash; they simply target different family outcomes—life quality versus service helpfulness.
Why it matters
You now have a five-minute survey that meets psychometric bars. Add it to intake, discharge, or yearly reviews to track caregiver views without extra clinic time. If scores dip, you can adjust goals or coach staff before the family disengages.
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Join Free →Hand the FOS-RE B to your next caregiver during pick-up; graph the helpfulness score before the next visit.
02At a glance
03Original abstract
BACKGROUND: With family centred practice as one of the tenets in early childhood intervention (ECI), it is important to understand family outcomes as a means of assessing the effectiveness of ECI services. AIMS: The present paper investigates the psychometric properties of an expanded measure of caregivers' perceptions of helpfulness of ECI services, the Family Outcomes Survey - Revised, Expanded Part B (FOS-RE B). METHODS AND PROCEDURES: Two-hundred and forty-six caregivers of children enrolled in an ECI programme in Singapore completed the FOS-RE B, as well as convergent validity measures (FOS-R Part A, Depression, Stress and Anxiety Scale and questions addressing perceptions of family situation and optimism for the child's future). Confirmatory factor analysis was used to examine the factor structure of the FOS-RE B and correlations were used to examine convergent validity. OUTCOMES AND RESULTS: The factor structure of the FOS-RE B was found to mirror the structure of the FOS-R A, as hypothesized. Evidence for convergent validity, in the form of correlations with family well-being measures was found, as well as evidence for good internal consistency reliability. CONCLUSIONS AND IMPLICATIONS: It is concluded that the FOS-RE B presents a promising measure of perceived helpfulness of ECI services.
Research in developmental disabilities, 2021 · doi:10.1016/j.ridd.2021.103895