Measuring stress, coping, strain and hopefulness of Brazilian family members of substance misusers: Factor structure of a set of measures

Objectives: We evaluated the psychometric properties of the Brazilian version of a set of measures designed to assess four psychological constructs associated with having a substance misusing relative in the family: the Family Member Impact (FMI), the Symptom Rating Test (SRT), the Coping Questionnaire (COPE) Hopefulness-hopelessness scale (HOPE). Methods: Secondary data from 3056 affected family members (AFMs) was analyzed. Factor structure of the measures and group invariance across gender were assessed using confirmatory factor analysis. Results: The Brazilian version of COPE showed that a four-factor model with 24 items fit the data better than the original three-factor model with 30 items. The FMI measure showed that a three-factor model is more appropriated to the Brazilian version of the scale than the original two-factor model. HOPE and SRT (29 items) Brazilian's version had the same two-factor model structure. This set of measures presented full measurement and structural invariance for both male and female. Conclusions: Findings provide support for the structural validity of the Brazilian version of a set of standard measures for the assessment of stress, coping, strain and hopefulness of AFMs by their relatives' substance misuse. As this is the first study to explore the factorial model of the measures, it provides further support for the use of these instruments for future studies aiming to explore means on supporting AFMs in Brazil and elsewhere.