The Couples' Illness Communication Scale (CICS): development and evaluation of a brief measure assessing illness-related couple communication.
OBJECTIVE
When one member of a couple has a chronic illness, communication about the illness is important for both patient and partner well-being. This study aimed to develop and test a brief self-report measure of illness-related couple communication.


METHODS
A combination of correlations and multiple regression were used to assess the internal consistency and validity of the Couples' Illness Communication Scale (CICS).


METHODS
A scale to provide insight into both patient and partner illness communication was developed. The CICS was then tested on patients with ovarian cancer (N=123) and their partners (N=101), as well as patients with early stage multiple sclerosis (MS) who had stable partnerships (N=64).


RESULTS
The CICS demonstrated good acceptability, internal consistency, convergent validity (correlations with general couple communication and marital adjustment), construct validity (correlations with intrusive thoughts, social/family well-being, emotional impact of the illness, and psychological distress), and test-retest reliability.


CONCLUSIONS
The CICS meets the majority of psychometric criteria for assessment measures in both a life-threatening illness (ovarian cancer) and a chronic progressive disease (MS). Further research is required to understand its suitability for use in other populations. Adoption of the CICS into couple-related research will improve understanding of the role of illness-related communication in adjustment to illness. Use of this short, simple tool in a clinical setting can provide a springboard for addressing difficulties with illness-related couple communication and could aid decision making for referrals to couple counselling.
Arden-Close
Emily
E
Department of Psychology, University of Sheffield, Sheffield, UK. e.arden-close@sheffield.ac.uk
Moss-Morris
Rona
R
Dennison
Laura
L
Bayne
Louise
L
Gidron
Yori
Y
D000223:Adaptation, Psychological; D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D015928:Cognitive Behavioral Therapy; D003142:Communication; D005195:Family Relations; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007407:Interviews as Topic; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009103:Multiple Sclerosis / Q000523:psychology*; D009364:Neoplasm Recurrence, Local / Q000473:pathology / Q000523:psychology; D009367:Neoplasm Staging; D010051:Ovarian Neoplasms / Q000473:pathology / Q000523:psychology*; D010555:Personality Inventory / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D011594:Psychometrics / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D015203:Reproducibility of Results; D012650:Self Disclosure; D012803:Sick Role; D012944:Social Support; D018454:Spouses / Q000523:psychology*; D014894:Weights and Measures; D014956:Writing