Development and validation of a short form of the Family Communication Scale

Family communication skills are seen as a key factor in improving family cohesion and flexibility. As an effective tool for assessing communication skills in family systems, the Family Communication Scale has been widely used throughout the world and has been validated in different populations. Although the scale contains only 10 items, large cross-sectional surveys usually contain several types of scales, and the total number of questions can easily lead to poor response results. Therefore, using a shorter scale can be quicker and more convenient to use in research and clinical practice. This study included data from 17,608 residents from 23 provinces in China using multistage stratified cluster sampling, with data randomly divided into two parts for exploratory and confirmatory analysis. In the exploratory analysis of dataset 1 (n=8840), a 4-item short table was derived based on Classical Test Theory (CTT). The new family communication scale has less than half the number of items of the original scale, supporting the original scale's unidimensional structure and acceptable internal consistency and structural validity. The reliability and structural validity of the short version of the Family Communication Scale were then tested using data set 2 (n=8768). Finally the simplified results were further validated using the Ant Colony Algorithm ACO.The results of the data analysis show that the 4-item scale, which is composed of the items with the highest factor loadings on the basis of classical measurement theory, has good psychometric properties (Cronbach 's α=0.917). The Family Communication Scale is an effective screening tool for the measurement of the ability and effectiveness of family members to communicate. Compared to the FCS-10, the FCS-4 retains its psychometric advantages and is simplified to reflect the overall level of family communication more quickly and accurately. Therefore, the introduction of the FCS-4 allows detailed assessment of family communication effects in a variety of research settings and designs. Key words Family communication, Scale simplification, Classical Test Theory