Family protective-risk index and its implications.

ABSTRACT

The study aimed to develop an index for differentiating the levels of a family at risk of affecting child development to be applied as a screening tool for primary care workers to identify families that need urgent help. The Family Protective-Risk Index (FPRI) was developed from 8 family factors; i.e. mother's education, father's education, family income sufficiency, type of family, family relations, stressful life events in the family, child rearing and physical environment at home that were related to child development in any age group (1-<3 years, 3-<6 years and 6-12 years). Each factor was given a score of 0 or 1 and the scores of FPRI were between 0-8. The family with a lower FPRI score would have a higher risk while the family with a high FPRI score would have more security. The cut off point of FPRI was determined by calculating the sensitivity, specificity, positive predictive value, and negative predictive value. It was later found that the appropriate cut off point for prediction was 6. The 6th FPRI score had a suitable sensitivity to be used for identifying families that need close assistance in order to prevent the slow growth and development of children.