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The Couples' Illness Communication Scale (CICS): Development and evaluation of a brief measure assessing illness‐related couple communication
Author(s) -
ArdenClose Emily,
MossMorris Rona,
Dennison Laura,
Bayne Louise,
Gidron Yori
Publication year - 2010
Publication title -
british journal of health psychology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.05
H-Index - 88
eISSN - 2044-8287
pISSN - 1359-107X
DOI - 10.1348/135910709x476972
Subject(s) - psychology , distress , scale (ratio) , clinical psychology , construct validity , construct (python library) , psychometrics , psychiatry , physics , quantum mechanics , computer science , programming language
Objectives. When one member of a couple has a chronic illness, communication about the illness is important for both patient and partner well‐being. This study aimed to develop and test a brief self‐report measure of illness‐related couple communication. Design. A combination of correlations and multiple regression were used to assess the internal consistency and validity of the Couples' Illness Communication Scale (CICS). Methods. A scale to provide insight into both patient and partner illness communication was developed. The CICS was then tested on patients with ovarian cancer ( N =123) and their partners ( N =101), as well as patients with early stage multiple sclerosis (MS) who had stable partnerships ( N =64). Results. The CICS demonstrated good acceptability, internal consistency, convergent validity (correlations with general couple communication and marital adjustment), construct validity (correlations with intrusive thoughts, social/family well‐being, emotional impact of the illness, and psychological distress), and test–retest reliability. Conclusions. The CICS meets the majority of psychometric criteria for assessment measures in both a life‐threatening illness (ovarian cancer) and a chronic progressive disease (MS). Further research is required to understand its suitability for use in other populations. Adoption of the CICS into couple‐related research will improve understanding of the role of illness‐related communication in adjustment to illness. Use of this short, simple tool in a clinical setting can provide a springboard for addressing difficulties with illness‐related couple communication and could aid decision making for referrals to couple counselling.