Inventory for the development of collaborative practices in social work with families in special distress. Exploratory factor analysis

Abstract

Introduction. We present an instrument which collects the various relational stances, skills, and attitudes associated with collaborative practices applied by social workers in their interventions with families in special distress. Methods. Drawing from the level of importance attached to each criterion in the inventory (sample of 121 social workers), we conducted an exploratory factor analysis. Results. A principal component factor analysis of six factors explained 46.88% of the total cumulative variance. Internal consistency was obtained by means of Cronbach's alpha coefficient. Discussion. The present inventory contains a series of intervention criteria that have proven to be effective in previous studies; our statistical analyses also showed the reliability and validity of the inventory Conclusions. Results showed that this instrument is a possible option to assess the level of importance which professionals attach to this collaborative approach with families in special distress.