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Exploratory and confirmatory factor analysis of the Child Uncertainty in Illness Scale among children with chronic illness.

Pai AL, Mullins LL, Drotar D, Burant C, Wagner J, Chaney JM

The Children's Hospital of Philadelphia, Division of Oncology, 34th Street & Civic Center Boulevard, Room 1487, CHOP North, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania 19104, USA. paia@email.chop.edu

OBJECTIVE: To conduct an exploratory factor analysis (EFA) and a confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) of the Child Uncertainty in Illness Scale (CUIS) with a sample of children and adolescents with a chronic health condition. Developmental differences in factor structure were also examined. METHODS: A sample of 373 children aged 8-18 years with chronic conditions completed the CUIS as a part of a larger battery of measures. RESULTS: The EFA yielded a 16-item two-factor model termed Unpredictability/Ambiguity and Comprehension. The CFA yielded a 14-item two-factor model that fits the data very well, where chi2(df = 74) = 95.396, Comparative Fit Index (CFI) = .973, Tucker Lewis Index (TLI) = .967, and Root Mean Square error of approximation (RMSEA) = .038. No developmental differences were found in underlying factor structures: Deltachi2(df = 12) = 17.754, DeltaCFI = .004, DeltaTLI = -.001, and DeltaRMSEA = .000. CONCLUSIONS: The two-factor CUIS measure could be a useful tool for assessing illness uncertainty among children with chronic illness.

Published 9 March 2007 in J Pediatr Psychol, 32(3): 288-96.
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