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Development and testing of the social capital scale for families of children with special health care needs
Author(s) -
Looman Wendy Sue
Publication year - 2006
Publication title -
research in nursing and health
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.836
H-Index - 85
eISSN - 1098-240X
pISSN - 0160-6891
DOI - 10.1002/nur.20148
Subject(s) - social capital , scale (ratio) , psychology , construct validity , social support , construct (python library) , health care , population , psychometrics , clinical psychology , gerontology , social psychology , environmental health , medicine , sociology , economic growth , economics , social science , computer science , programming language , physics , quantum mechanics
Abstract The purpose of this study was to develop and psychometrically test the Social Capital Scale for families of children with special health care needs. Researchers have suggested a link between social capital and health, however, psychometrically tested measures of social capital are not described in the literature. The Social Capital Scale (SCS) demonstrated internal consistency, stability over time, and construct validity (as evaluated through factor analysis, correlation with existing measures, and hypothesis testing). Five subscales provide insight into family strengths and areas for improvement related to their investment in relationships that support health. Use of the SCS will contribute to the establishment of consensus and precision in communication about social capital's utility and measurement in the population of families of children with special health care needs. © 2006 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Res Nurs Health 29: 325–336, 2006