The purpose of the study was to evaluate the psychometric properties of the Beach Center Family Quality of Life Scale (BCFQLS) in a sample of families with children who have severe developmental disabilities. The study sought to determine whether or not the scale could be used to measure the quality of life of such families and to differentiate between the quality of life of two family groups—those whose child lives in the family home and those whose child lives outside the family home.
The study used an observational, cross-sectional design and both qualitative and quantitative methods. Self-identified primary caregivers of 54 families with children who have severe developmental disabilities in the Tidewater, Virginia area completed three surveys and provided additional input for the purpose of assessing the internal consistency and test-retest reliability of the BCFQLS as well as its face, content, and criterion validity when used with such families.
The BCFQLS was found to be a fairly reliable and valid instrument for measuring the quality of life of individual families with children who have severe developmental disabilities and reside either in or outside the family home. Study limitations are identified and discussed, and suggestions for scale improvement and future research are provided.
","abstract_html":"<p>The purpose of the study was to evaluate the psychometric properties of the Beach Center Family Quality of Life Scale (BCFQLS) in a sample of families with children who have severe developmental disabilities. The study sought to determine whether or not the scale could be used to measure the quality of life of such families and to differentiate between the quality of life of two family groups—those whose child lives in the family home and those whose child lives outside the family home.</p> <p>The study used an observational, cross-sectional design and both qualitative and quantitative methods. Self-identified primary caregivers of 54 families with children who have severe developmental disabilities in the Tidewater, Virginia area completed three surveys and provided additional input for the purpose of assessing the internal consistency and test-retest reliability of the BCFQLS as well as its face, content, and criterion validity when used with such families.</p> <p>The BCFQLS was found to be a fairly reliable and valid instrument for measuring the quality of life of individual families with children who have severe developmental disabilities and reside either in or outside the family home. Study limitations are identified and discussed, and suggestions for scale improvement and future research are provided.</p>","abstract_has_math":false,"creators":["McFelea, Joni Taylor"],"institution":null,"degree_name":"Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)","degree_level":"Dissertation","degree_discipline":"Health Services Research","degree_department":null,"school":null,"contributors":["Stacey B. Plichta","Clare Houseman","George Maihafer","Sharon Raver-Lampman"],"advisors":[],"committee_chairs":[],"committee_members":[],"year":2007,"date_issued":"2007-07-01T07:00:00Z","date_published":"2007-07-01T07:00:00Z","updated_at":"2026-07-24T03:34:39Z","subjects":["Beach Center Family Quality of Life Scale","Children","Developmental disabilities","Families","Policy outcomes","Disability Studies","Family, Life Course, and Society","Maternal and Child Health"],"languages":[],"rights":[],"rights_urls":[],"identifier_entries":[{"key":"dc:identifier","label":"Identifier","values":["9780549218234"],"render_values":[{"text":"9780549218234","href":null,"code":true}]}]},"links":{"outbound_url":"https://digitalcommons.odu.edu/healthservices_etds/36","outbound_label":"Repository record","outbound_source":"dc:identifier"},"metadata_groups":[{"id":"people","label":"People","entries":[{"key":"dc:contributor","label":"Contributor","values":["Stacey B. Plichta","Clare Houseman","George Maihafer","Sharon Raver-Lampman"]},{"key":"dc:creator","label":"Author","values":["McFelea, Joni Taylor"]}]},{"id":"academic_context","label":"Academic Context","entries":[{"key":"dc:date.available","label":"Dc Date Available","values":["2019-04-22T07:00:00Z"]},{"key":"thesis:degree_discipline","label":"Discipline","values":["Health Services Research"]},{"key":"thesis:degree_level","label":"Degree Level","values":["Dissertation"]},{"key":"thesis:degree_name","label":"Degree Name","values":["Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)"]}]},{"id":"subjects_keywords","label":"Subjects and Keywords","entries":[{"key":"dc:subject","label":"Dc Subject","values":["Beach Center Family Quality of Life Scale","Children","Developmental disabilities","Families","Policy outcomes","Disability Studies","Family, Life Course, and Society","Maternal and Child Health"]}]},{"id":"identifiers","label":"Identifiers","entries":[{"key":"dc:identifier","label":"Identifier","values":["9780549218234","https://digitalcommons.odu.edu/healthservices_etds/36"]}]},{"id":"additional","label":"Additional Metadata","entries":[{"key":"dc:description.abstract","label":"Abstract","values":["The purpose of the study was to evaluate the psychometric properties of the Beach Center Family Quality of Life Scale (BCFQLS) in a sample of families with children who have severe developmental disabilities. The study sought to determine whether or not the scale could be used to measure the quality of life of such families and to differentiate between the quality of life of two family groups—those whose child lives in the family home and those whose child lives outside the family home.
The study used an observational, cross-sectional design and both qualitative and quantitative methods. Self-identified primary caregivers of 54 families with children who have severe developmental disabilities in the Tidewater, Virginia area completed three surveys and provided additional input for the purpose of assessing the internal consistency and test-retest reliability of the BCFQLS as well as its face, content, and criterion validity when used with such families.
The BCFQLS was found to be a fairly reliable and valid instrument for measuring the quality of life of individual families with children who have severe developmental disabilities and reside either in or outside the family home. Study limitations are identified and discussed, and suggestions for scale improvement and future research are provided.
"]},{"key":"dc:title","label":"Title","values":["Psychometric Evaluation of an instrument for Assessing Policy Outcomes for Families with Children Who Have Severe Developmental Disabilities: The Beach Center Family Quality of Life Scale"]}]}],"canonical_facts":{"dc:contributor":["Stacey B. Plichta","Clare Houseman","George Maihafer","Sharon Raver-Lampman"],"dc:creator":["McFelea, Joni Taylor"],"dc:date.available":["2019-04-22T07:00:00Z"],"dc:description.abstract":["The purpose of the study was to evaluate the psychometric properties of the Beach Center Family Quality of Life Scale (BCFQLS) in a sample of families with children who have severe developmental disabilities. The study sought to determine whether or not the scale could be used to measure the quality of life of such families and to differentiate between the quality of life of two family groups—those whose child lives in the family home and those whose child lives outside the family home.
The study used an observational, cross-sectional design and both qualitative and quantitative methods. Self-identified primary caregivers of 54 families with children who have severe developmental disabilities in the Tidewater, Virginia area completed three surveys and provided additional input for the purpose of assessing the internal consistency and test-retest reliability of the BCFQLS as well as its face, content, and criterion validity when used with such families.
The BCFQLS was found to be a fairly reliable and valid instrument for measuring the quality of life of individual families with children who have severe developmental disabilities and reside either in or outside the family home. Study limitations are identified and discussed, and suggestions for scale improvement and future research are provided.
"],"dc:identifier":["9780549218234","https://digitalcommons.odu.edu/healthservices_etds/36"],"dc:subject":["Beach Center Family Quality of Life Scale","Children","Developmental disabilities","Families","Policy outcomes","Disability Studies","Family, Life Course, and Society","Maternal and Child Health"],"dc:title":["Psychometric Evaluation of an instrument for Assessing Policy Outcomes for Families with Children Who Have Severe Developmental Disabilities: The Beach Center Family Quality of Life Scale"],"thesis:degree_discipline":["Health Services Research"],"thesis:degree_level":["Dissertation"],"thesis:degree_name":["Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)"]},"updated_at":"2026-07-24T03:34:39Z"}