Development of a tool to measure the life situation of parents of children with cancer

The aim of this study was to test the validity and reliability of the recently developed Life Situation Scale for Parents (LSS-P) among parents of children with cancer. One hundred and ten parents of seventy-four children and adolescents who visited three paediatric wards in Sweden filled out three instruments: The LSS-P, the Quality of Life Scale and the Family Support Scale. The reliability co-efficient, Cronbach's alpha, was found to be 0.82 for the LSS-P. A factor analysis with orthogonal varimax rotation of 37 items of the LSS-P gave twelve factors. A higher order factor analysis reduced the factors to four (Care, Well-being, Social life and Preparedness), explaining the underlying dimensions to 57.9%. The total LSS-P correlated significantly with the Quality of Life Scale, and the higher order factor Care with the Family Support Scale. The LSS-P discriminated, in some aspects, between two-parent and single parent families and between parents visiting the ward for treatment or check-up. The conclusion is that this first version of the LSS-P was valid and reliable (internal consistency) to a certain extent, but that the instrument should be tested on larger samples and during different phases of the disease.