BackgroundEarly intervention (EI) practitioners provide individualised family-centred services to enhance the quality of life (QOL) of families of children with developmental delay (DD). Family QOL (FQOL) could be an important outcome indictor for EI, but there is no measurement tool for FQOL in Mandarin Chinese. The purpose of this study was to translate the Beach Centre FQOL Scale (BCFQOL) into Mandarin Chinese and to examine the psychometric properties of the scale in families of children with DD. MethodsTwo independent translations were performed by two bilingual professors whose mother tongue was Mandarin, and two back-translations were performed by two bilingual professionals whose mother tongue was English. The translated and back-translated questionnaires were reviewed to revise the questionnaire. Five experts assessed the accuracy, equivalence and cultural appropriateness of the scale, and 10 parents of children with DD were interviewed to examine its readability, clarity and cultural appropriateness. From July to November 2014, we recruited 360 primary caregivers of children with DD who were receiving EI in northern Taiwan to validate the scale. The participants completed the BCFQOL as well as a one item overall ratings of their FQOL. ResultsItem analysis was performed to assess each item. Confirmatory factor analysis supported the following five-factor structure as in the original scale: family interaction, parenting, emotional well-being, physical/material well-being and disability-related support. The scale exhibited excellent internal consistency reliability (Cronbach's alpha=0.96) and test-retest reliability at a 2-week interval (intra-class correlation coefficient=0.92). Contrasted group validity was supported by significantly higher BCFQOL scores in the top quartile of the overall FQOL rating than the lowest quartile. The convergent validity was supported by the significant correlation between the FQOL item and the BCFQOL (r=0.608, p<0.01). ConclusionsThis study showed that the Mandarin Chinese version of the BCFQOL is reliable and valid for Taiwanese families of children with DD. The instrument could be applied to assess FQOL in families of children with DD who are receiving EI in order to evaluate family services and supports.