Impact on Family Scale
Developed to assess the overall impact on family life of having a child with a chronic condition. Original (27-item) version included 4 dimensions: economic (changes in family financial status), social (quality/quantity of family interaction with others outside of family), familial (quality of intra-family interaction), personal strain (subjective burden on primary caretaker). Subsequent revised 15-item version includes social and familial dimensions only (separate 5-item financial impact scale is available). Completed as questionnaire or interview; one parent/caregiver. Intended for research purposes or program evaluation, not for clinical evaluation.
[Original 27-item version: Stein R., Riessman C.K. (1980). The development of an Impact-on-Family Scale: Preliminary findings. Med Care, 18, 465 – 472.--no longer in use]
Revised version: Stein, R., & Jessop, D. (2003). The impact on family scale revisited: Further psychometric data. Journal of Developmental and Behavioral Pediatrics, 24(1), 9–16.
Revised version validity: Jalil, Y.F., Villarroel, G.S., Silva, A.A. (2019). Reliability and validity of the revised impact on family scale (RIOFS) in the hospital context. J Patient Rep Outcomes, 3(28).
Translations:
French: Boudas, R., Jegu, J., Grollemund, B., Quentel, E., Danion-Grilliat, A., & Velten, M. (2013). Cross-cultural French adaptation and validation of the Impact On Family Scale (IOFS). Health and Quality of Life Outcomes, 11(1), 67.
German: Ravens-Sieberer, U., Morfeld, M., Stein, R.E., Jessop, D.J., Bullinger, M,, Thyen, U. (2001). Der Familien-Belastungs-Fragebogen (FaBel-Fragebogen) - Testung und Validierung der deutschen Version der "Impact on Family Scale" bei Familien mit behinderten Kindern - [The testing and validation of the German version of the impact on family scale in families with children with disabilities]. Psychother Psychosom Med Psychol, 51(9-10), 384-93. (Article in German)
Italian: Kolk, A. M., Schipper, J. L., Hanewald, G.J., Casari, E. F., Fantino, A.G., The Impact-on-Family Scale : A Test of Invariance Across Culture, Journal of Pediatric Psychology, 25(5), 323–329.
Spanish: Nieto-Eugenio, I., Romero-Saldaña, M., Guler-Caamaño, I., & Rich-Ruiz, M. (2021). Validation of the Impact on Family Scale (Spanish Version) and Predictive Variables in Parents of Children with Severe Food Allergy. Journal of Pediatric Nursing, 56, 93–99.
Turkish: Bek, N., Simsek, I. E., Erel, S., Yakut, Y., & Uygur, F. (2009).Turkish version of impact on family scale: a study of reliability and validity. Health and Quality of Life Outcomes, 7(1), 4.
Long and short adaptation for children with epilepsy: Dehn, L.B., Korn-Merker, E., Pfäfflin, M., Ravens-Sieberer, U., & May, T. (2014). The Impact on Family Scale: Psychometric analysis of long and short forms in parents of children with epilepsy. Epilepsy & Behavior, 32, 21–26.
Additional information
| Construct | Family life |
|---|---|
| Condition | Chronic condition |
| Age | Child |
| Country Where Developed | United States |
| Number of Items | 15 |
| Short Form? | No |
| Respondent | Parent, Primary caregiver |
| Language(s) | English, French, German, Italian, Spanish, Turkish |
| Cost/Fee | $25 |
| How to Access | By permission of author: ruth.stein@einsteinmed.org |