DEVELOPMENT OF THE FAMILY EMOTIONAL INVOLVEMENT AND CRITICISM SCALE (FEICS) - A SELF-REPORT SCALE TO MEASURE EXPRESSED EMOTION

This paper reports on the development, reliability, and validity of a self-report scale to assess from the recipient's perspective two factors derived from Expressed Emotion (EE) theory. The Family Emotional Involvement and Criticism Scale (FEICS) has two subscales: Perceived Criticism (PC) and intensity of Emotional Involvement (EI). These two factors are analogous to Critical Comments and Emotional Overinvolvement, the two main factors of EE that are assessed through the Camberwell Family Interview, the original direct observation measure of EE. FEICS was completed ky 83 respondents who were a random sample of patients over 40 years of age receiving care at a Family Medicine Center. Cronbach's alpha was .82 for the PC subscale and .74 for the EI subscale. Confirmatory factor analysis showed that each item loaded on its proposed factor (all at greater-than-or-equal-to .50) and not with the other factor (all at less-than-or-equal-to .15). The subscales exhibited expected correlations and partial correlations with FA CES III subscales, ISEL subscales, the SCL-90 depression and anxiety subscales, and demographic variables. We conclude that the FEICS is a reliable instrument with preliminary evidence of its construct and criterion validity.