Validation of Family Functioning Questionnaire (FFQ) with a Sample of Parents of Children with Autism Spectrum Disorder in Addis Ababa

Abstract

Contextually validated measures of family functioning of parents with special needs are unavailable in Ethiopia. This study was aimed to validate the Amharic version of the Family Functioning Questionnaire (FFQ) with evidence from community samples of families of children with Autism Spectrum Disorder (n=72). Having translated the FFQ into Amharic, then the validation processes of assessing the psychometric properties (validity and reliability) of the instrument were conducted using experts’ judgments, factor analysis, and internal consistency measures. The face and content validity assessments resulted in a measure that lends itself to the construct it intends to measure. The principal component factor analysis brought out two factors ( problem-solving and personal goal) with the majority of items demonstrated a factor loading above 0.5. The convergent validity of the FFQ was demonstrated via the Dyadic Adjustment Scale in which the observed significant intercorrelations suggested a strong construct validity of the Amharic FFQ. The internal consistency of the scale was also good, with a Cronbach’s alpha of 0.82 for the whole scale and 0.91 and 0.82 for the problem-solving and personal goal sub-scales respectively. Hence, the Amharic version of the FFQ can be used for measuring the quality of family functioning in families of children with developmental disorders in the Ethiopian context.