title: Psychometric Validation of an Instrument to Measure Family Coping During a Child's Hospitalization for Cancer.
abstract: Families with children hospitalized for cancer treatment experience multiple, serious challenges. Family coping is a crucial moderator between family stress and family adaptation. A newly developed instrument, the Hospitalization Coping Scale (HCS), measures the effectiveness of family coping during a child's hospitalization.
  
  
  
  The aims of this study were to revise and validate the psychometric properties of the HCS for families with children hospitalized for cancer treatment in pediatric oncology departments in Mainland China.
  
  
  
  Psychometric properties of the HCS were examined among 253 families with children hospitalized in pediatric oncology departments in 4 hospitals. Reliability, construct validity, known-group validity, and concurrent validity of the revised HCS were examined.
  
  
  
  The revised 15-item HCS contains 3 renamed factors: maintaining mental stability, mutual support for child care, and seeking support from external systems. Cronbach's α coefficients for the total and 3 factors were .87, .78, .83, and .79, respectively. The revised scale demonstrated sound known-group validity and concurrent validity.
  
  
  
  The revised 15-item HCS is a reliable and valid instrument to measure coping effectiveness of families with children hospitalized for cancer treatment.
  
  
  
  The HCS can be used by pediatric oncology nurses to assess the effectiveness of family coping during a hospitalization of their child with cancer and may help pediatric oncology nurses to develop and implement realistic support strategies based on assessments of family coping effectiveness.
authors.affiliation: Author Affiliations: School of Nursing, Sun Yat-Sen University, Guangzhou (Drs Lyu and You and Yan); and School of Nursing, The Hong Kong Polytechnic University, Hong Kong SAR (Drs Kong and Wong); and Sun Yat-Sen Memorial Hospital, Guangzhou (Ms Zhou); and School of Nursing, Nanjing Medical University, Nanjing (Dr Li), China.
authors.forename: Qi-Yuan
authors.initials: QY
authors.lastname: Lyu
authors.forename: Sarah K F
authors.initials: SKF
authors.lastname: Kong
authors.forename: Frances K Y
authors.initials: FKY
authors.lastname: Wong
authors.forename: Li-Ming
authors.initials: LM
authors.lastname: You
authors.forename: Jun
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Yan
authors.forename: Xue-Zhen
authors.initials: XZ
authors.lastname: Zhou
authors.forename: Xian-Wen
authors.initials: XW
authors.lastname: Li
mesh_terms: D000223:Adaptation, Psychological; D000293:Adolescent; D002648:Child; D002673:Child, Hospitalized / Q000523:psychology* / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D002675:Child, Preschool; D002681:China; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007223:Infant; D008297:Male; D009369:Neoplasms / Q000523:psychology* / Q000628:therapy; D010290:Parents / Q000523:psychology*; D011594:Psychometrics; D015203:Reproducibility of Results; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires