Instruments
Family stressors, strains, and transitions
The Family Inventory of Life Events (FILE) (McCubbin et al.
1980) was used for the measurement of family stress. This
instrument is designed to assess both normative and nonnormative
family life events, transitions, and strains a family
unit may have experienced during the past year.
Validity and reliability have been established (McCubbin
et al. 1993). The total scale score was used rather than
subscale scores, as recommended by the authors, because of
lower reliability and stability in subscales. Each parent
completed the instruments individually. A maximized family
score was calculated. If either or both parents scored an item
as a yes, that item was counted as one event.