Developing and validating the "composite measure of problem behaviors"

Area of Science:

• Psychology
• Behavioral Science
• Psychometrics

Background:

• Clinicians frequently encounter diverse problem behaviors, including self-harm, eating disorders, substance misuse, and addiction.
• These behaviors often co-occur, but a unified measurement tool is lacking.
• Existing measures do not capture the concurrent nature of these varied behaviors.

Purpose of the Study:

• To design and validate a composite measure for concurrently assessing a range of problem behaviors.
• To investigate the underlying structure and psychometric properties of this new measure.
• To explore the potential for a common factor underlying diverse problem behaviors.

Main Methods:

• Development of the Composite Measure of Problem Behaviors using exploratory factor analysis on initial samples (N = 691, N = 53).
• Validation of the measure through confirmatory factor analysis on combined samples (N = 691, N = 740).
• Statistical analysis to identify a common higher-order factor explaining behavioral covariation.

Main Results:

• The Composite Measure of Problem Behaviors demonstrated good psychometric properties.
• Exploratory and confirmatory factor analyses supported the measure's structure.
• A significant common higher-order factor was identified, accounting for the covariance between disparate problem behaviors.

Conclusions:

• The Composite Measure of Problem Behaviors is a psychometrically sound tool for assessing multiple concurrent problem behaviors.
• Findings suggest a shared underlying functional mechanism may drive the co-occurrence of diverse problem behaviors.
• This measure can aid clinicians in understanding and addressing the complex interplay of these behaviors.