Multilevel Exploratory Factor Analysis of the Feeling Word Checklist-24

Area of Science:

• Psychology
• Psychotherapy Research
• Clinical Psychology

Background:

• Emotional reactions are crucial in the therapeutic relationship.
• The Feeling Word Checklist-24 (FWC-24) measures feelings experienced during therapy.
• Understanding the FWC-24's structure is key for accurate assessment.

Purpose of the Study:

• To assess the factor structure of the clinician-rated FWC-24.
• To account for dependencies within therapist-patient data.
• To explore the FWC-24's psychometric properties in a diverse clinical sample.

Main Methods:

• Multilevel exploratory factor analysis was employed.
• Data included 4,443 ratings from 101 psychotherapists and 191 patients.
• A two-level model considered therapists (between-level) and patients/sessions (within-level).

Main Results:

• A four-factor structure emerged on both the between and within levels.
• The factors were consistently labeled: Engaged, Inadequate, Relaxed, and Moved.
• Factor variance differed across levels, indicating therapist and patient-specific influences.

Conclusions:

• The FWC-24 demonstrates a robust four-factor structure in clinician ratings.
• Therapist and patient factors significantly influence emotional experiences during therapy.
• The findings support the FWC-24's utility in capturing nuanced therapeutic relationship dynamics.