Theses and Dissertations

ORCID

0000-0002-0396-0643

Advisor

McKinney, Cliff

Committee Member

DeShong, Hilary

Committee Member

Porter, Bennett

Committee Member

Winkler, Christa

Date of Degree

8-12-2026

Original embargo terms

Immediate Worldwide Access

Document Type

Dissertation - Open Access

Major

Applied Psychology

Degree Name

Doctor of Philosophy (Ph.D.)

College

College of Arts and Sciences

Department

Department of Psychology

Abstract

The current manuscript presents the development and validation of the Global Impact of Chronic Illness Scale – Universal (GICIS-U), a novel measure of chronic illness impact through three separate studies. The pilot study aimed at measure development, which included item selection and two rounds of item refinement using feedback gained through four focus groups. Study 1 consisted of an exploratory factor analysis (EFA) to determine factor structure of the measure. Participants were 183 individuals recruited from an online participant pool and social media outlets who completed the refined GICIS-U online. Results of the EFA suggested a six-factor structure, of which the factors were named Positivity, Confidence, Physical, Personal, Outside Perspectives, and Financial. Study 2 comprised a confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) and psychometric testing. Participants were 217 individuals recruited from an online participant pool, social media outlets, and MTurk. Measures included the GICIS-U items retained through the EFA, World Health Organization Quality of Life -Brief, Self-Efficacy for Managing Chronic Disease 6-Item Scale, Suffering Assessment Questionnaire, Impact of Illness Scale, and Illness Intrusiveness Rating Scale. Results of the CFA confirmed a five-factor hierarchical model indicating a total score and domain scores can be obtained from the GICIS-U. Psychometric testing demonstrated that the GICIS-U is reliable and valid. Overall, the GICIS-U is a novel contribution to the field of Health Psychology that provides ties to foundational theories, clinical utility, and opportunities for future research.

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