Validation of a Questionnaire to Assess the Difficulties of Couples in Stepfamilies

Abstract

Abstract This study seeks to validate the Questionnaire for Couples in Stepfamiles (QCS). This questionnaire was created to assess individual perception of the nature and intensity of difficulties experienced by couples in stepfamilies. One hundred and thirty-two women and 106 men in stepfamilies completed both the QCS and the Marital Adjustment Test (MAT) (Locke & Wallace, 1959) to confirm convergent validity. According to factorial analysis, the QCS includes a unique factor for each of the four following scales: (1) difficulties associated with the social and family dimension; (2) difficulties associated with the role of spouse; (3) difficulties associated with the role of parent; (4) difficulties associated with the role of stepparent. As the Cronbach' s alphas are all greater than .80, they reveal a strong internal consistency for each scale. It was also possible to calculate a clinical cutting score separating satisfied spouses from dissatisfied ones for each scale.