| Measure Description | Source of measure | Dunst, C. J., Jenkins, V., & Trivette, C. M. (1984). Family support scale: Reliability and validity. Journal of Individual, Family, and Community Wellness, 1(4), 45-52. |
| Mode of administration | Self-report |
| Age range for use | Parents of young children |
| Domains Assessed | Measures how helpful different sources of social support have been to the family. Different subscales have been identified by different researchers based on factor analyses. Hanley, Tasse, Aman, and Pace (1998) identify five subscales based on factor analysis: (1) community, (2) spouse and in-laws, (3) friends, (4) specialized/professional, and (5) own parents and extended family. |
| Related Measures | |
| Burden | Training needed to administer | Minimal staff training required for this self-report measure. Staff need to be familiar with all items before administering to a participant. |
| Minutes to complete | 15-20 minutes |
| # of items | 18 |
| Cost | Yes |
| Adaptation for AIAN use | Adapted | No |
| Developer allows adaptation? | Unclear- contact developer |
| Used with AIAN populations? | Yes |
| Psychometrics | Norm-referenced | No |
| AIAN: Cronbach's alpha range | 0.78 (reported by Michigan State University). |
| AIAN: Evidence of validity | Not yet available |
| Other populations: Cronbach's alpha range | Dunst, Jenkins, and Trivette (1984) report Cronbach's alpha of .77, split-half reliability of .75, and test-retest reliability ranging from .41 to .75. Taylor et al. (1993) report Cronbach's alpha of .80. With an ethnically diverse Early Head Start sample, Hanley, Tasse, Aman, and Pace (1998) reported a Cronbach's alpha of .85, split-half reliability of .72, and test-retest reliability of .73. They also report the reliability of subscales: Cronbach's alphas ranged from .60 to .74 and test-retest reliability ranged from .60 to .78. |
| Other populations: Evidence of validity | Dunst et al. (1984) report that the FSS relates to various other parent and family outcomes, demonstrating concurrent validity. Hassall, Rose, & McDonald (2005) provide additional evidence of the measure's construct/concurrent validity. They report that the FSS relates significantly to the Parenting Stress Index, i.e. more support related to lower parenting-related stress. They also report that a higher score on the FSS related to internal locus of control, as measured by the PLOC. |
| Source | Developer | Dunst, Jenkins, and Trivette |
| Link | wbpress.com |
| Summary | Comments about sensitivity to change | |
| General remarks | Subscales and factors vary based on the study conducted. |