*3.6. What Were the Psychometric Properties of the ECQ?*

Each a priori ECQ scale had satisfactory internal consistency reliability: Personal Stress, items 1–13, alpha = 0.79; Parenting Stress, items 14–21, alpha = 0.90; Older Parent Stress, items 22–25 alpha = 0.80; and Gratitude, items 26–34, alpha = 0.72.

An exploratory factor analysis of ECQ items yielded factors that corresponded to a priori subscales with one exception. Items in the Personal Stress subscale loaded on two separate factors that assessed "Routines and Resources" (items 2, 3, 5, 6, 7, and 13; alpha = 0.61) and "Worry and Well-being" (items 8–12; alpha = 0.87). Since the alpha value for the 13-item Personal Distress scale was satisfactory (0.79), this scale rather than the two subfactors was used in the main analysis.

A five-band severity classification was devised based on the categorization of the DASS-21, which the ECQ was compared to. Within the ECQ subscales, the following ranges were derived through k-means clustering for Personal Distress: Normal 0–12; Mild 13–2; Moderate 20–26; Severe 27–33; Extremely Severe >34; Older Aging Parents: Normal 0–4; Mild 5–2; Moderate 8–11; Severe 12–15; Extremely Severe >16; Parents to children: Normal 0–8; Mild 9–2; Moderate 16–21; Severe 22–29; Extremely Severe >30.
