A confirmative clinimetric analysis of the 36-item Family Assessment Device

: Thastum M., Bech P., Timmerby N., Cosci F., Watson M., Csillag C., Schmitt F., Steck B.

Publisher: Taylor and Francis Ltd

: 2018

: Nordic Journal of Psychiatry

: 72

: 4

: 268

: 272

: 5

: 0803-9488

DOI: https://doi.org/10.1080/08039488.2018.1435721

-Background: The Family Assessment Device (FAD) is a 60-item questionnaire widely used to evaluate self-reported family functioning. However, the factor structure as well as the number of items has been questioned. A shorter and more user-friendly version of the original FAD-scale, the 36-item FAD, has therefore previously been proposed, based on findings in a nonclinical population of adults.

Aims: We aimed in this study to evaluate the brief 36-item version of the FAD in a clinical population.

Methods: Data from a European multinational study, examining factors associated with levels of family functioning in adult cancer patients’ families, were used. Both healthy and ill parents completed the 60-item version FAD. The psychometric analyses conducted were Principal Component Analysis and Mokken-analysis.

Results: A total of 564 participants were included. Based on the psychometric analysis we confirmed that the 36-item version of the FAD has robust psychometric properties and can be used in clinical populations.

Conclusions: The present analysis confirmed that the 36-item version of the FAD (18 items assessing ‘well-being’ and 18 items assessing ‘dysfunctional’ family function) is a brief scale where the summed total score is a valid measure of the dimensions of family functioning. This shorter version of the FAD is, in accordance with the concept of ‘measurement-based care’, an easy to use scale that could be considered when the aim is to evaluate self-reported family functioning.

Keywords: Family Assessment Device, family functioning, family, health surveys, psychometrics