Development and Initial Validation of the Family Belonging Questionnaire for Migrant Older Adults with Children in China

Abstract Background With increasing population aging and family-oriented migration in China, understanding family belonging among migrant older adults with children (MOAC) has become increasingly important. This study aimed to develop and initially validate a reliable and practical questionnaire to assess family belonging in this population. Methods A multiphase mixed-methods design was used. Items were generated through a literature review, semi-structured interviews with eight MOAC, two rounds of Delphi expert consultation, and pilot testing with 20 participants. Psychometric evaluation involved 418 MOAC, randomly divided for exploratory factor analysis(EFA) ( n = 201) and confirmatory factor analysis(CFA) ( n = 217). Results The final questionnaire contained 28 items across seven dimensions: emotional bonding, family role adaptation, cultural integration, family system interaction, extended social support, perceived autonomy, and future belonging expectation. The seven-factor solution explained 70.91% of the variance.CFA showed acceptable model fit (χ²/ df = 1.141, RMSEA = 0.026, CFI = 0.982, TLI = 0.979). Cronbach’s α was 0.913 overall and 0.820 ~ 0.858 across dimensions; AVE ranged from 0.522 to 0.596 and Composite Reliability from 0.814 to 0.855. Conclusions The questionnaire demonstrated satisfactory initial reliability and validity and provides a context-sensitive measure of multidimensional family belonging among MOAC.