Family Dynamics and Disordered Eating: Development and Validation of a Clinical Evaluation Scale

Abstract

This study presents the validation and development of a clinical evaluation scale to explore the connection between family dynamics or patterns of disordered eating behaviors. A sample of 400 individuals (200 men, 200 women) aged 16 to 25 years suffering from different disordered eating patterns selected for this study using purposive sampling. The development process of scale involved five stages: Stage 1: Domain Identification and Item Generation, where interviews conducted with 12 individuals (6 men, 6 women) with disordered eating from Lahore, Pakistan. Stage 2: Content Expert Validation, where five clinical psychologists evaluated the developed therapeutic assessment tool in terms of the items' clarity. Stage 3: Pilot Testing in which scale administered to 50 individuals (25 men, 25 women) to ensure that all the items in the scale are culturally appropriate, yielding a Cronbach’s alpha of .80. Stage 4: Exploratory Factor Analysis (EFA) was administered to a sample of 400 (200 men and 200 women) individuals, confirming a KMO value of 0.69. EFA resulted in a 19-item scale divided into three factors: “Parental Authority and Emotional Distance”, “Body Image Concerns and Eating Habits” and “Negative Feedback and Disordered Eating”. Stage 5: Reliability and Validity Assessment where scale demonstrated test-retest reliability (0.967**). Convergent validity of the scale was assessed with the three-factor eating questionnaire (0.746**). Discriminant validity of the scale was assessed with the Multidimensional scale of Perceived Social Support (0.031). The scale demonstrated robust psychometric properties, providing a reliable tool for clinical and research applications.