Evaluating the cross-cultural validity of three family quality of life sub-scales

Abstract

Background: Families of children with disabilities often face unique challenges. Developed in a U.S. context, the Beach Center Family Quality of Life measure assesses the effectiveness of supports and services that families receive. This study examines whether items from three sub-scales of the Beach Center instrument perform similarly for two samples, one from Lusaka, Zambia, and the second from a Midwestern U.S. state. Methods: This cross-sectional research used secondary data and completed hierarchical ordinal regression analyses on item-level performance within the sub-scales. Results: Only one item flagged for potential item bias with remaining items performing similarly when controlling for overall sub-scale scores. Conclusions: This study extends existing research on the cultural and linguistic appropriateness of the Beach Center measure, providing additional validity evidence about the internal structure of the scales. Findings indicate that these items are acceptable outcome measures for policy and programme evaluations in Zambia.