Introduction. The family performs many key functions in human life, including a guardian-protective function, which should be defined as taking care of dependent and unable to self-care family members. There are not many papers on the issues of care efficiency of parents raising children with developmental disorders and healthy children. There is a need to explore this issue using standardized research tools with satisfactory psychometric properties that evaluate the complex process of childcare. Aim. The aim of the study was to evaluate the psychometric properties of an original research tool used to assess the care efficiency of parents. Material and methods. In the cross-sectional study participated parents raising children with disabilities (study group – 243 people) and parents of children without developmental disorders (comparative group – 264 people). During the study the original Scale Efficiency of Care (SEC) was used. Results. The results obtained in the SEC differed between the groups. The Cronbach’s alpha coefficient in both groups confirmed the reliability of the author's research tool. During the estimation of criterion validity, a correlation between the SEC and GSES, a scale with a similar theoretical concept was obtained. The validity of the SEC was also verified in the confirmatory factor analysis (CFA). Conclusions. The SEC is characterized by satisfactory psychometric properties – reliability and validity. This scale can provide a lot of valuable information about the level of care efficiency of parents. The obtained results support the use of the SEC in scientific research and its further improvement.

Key words: care, efficiency, parents, children, disability.