Development and preliminary psychometric evaluation of a self-rated version of the Family Accommodation Scale for Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder

Family accommodation (FA) in obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) refers to family members’ or significant others’ participation in or facilitation of patients’ rituals and/or avoidance. With recent studies pointing to FA as a predictor of poorer treatment outcome, there is heightened interest in developing family-based interventions for OCD aimed at reducing FA. The interviewer-rated Family Accommodation Scale for OCD (FAS-IR) is the gold standard for assessing the types and severity of FA in OCD families. However, the cost of training interviewers and the time required for administration may limit its use in some settings. A valid self-rated version could be administered for research and clinical purposes with minimal burden and has the potential to be more widely used. The present study reports on the development and initial psychometric testing of the Family Accommodation Scale for OCD-Self Rated Version (FAS-SR). The FAS-SR was compared to the FAS-IR in a sample of 41 relatives of individuals with primary OCD, demonstrating excellent internal consistency, strong agreement with the FAS-IR, and expected convergence with criterion measures. Though further study using the self-rated version is needed, these findings suggest that the FAS-SR is a valid measure of FA and a time-saving, less costly alternative to the FAS-IR.

► Family accommodation predicts poorer treatment outcome in OCD.
► Our aim was to develop and validate a self-rated version of the Family Accommodation Scale for OCD.
► The FAS-SR showed excellent internal consistency and strong agreement with the interview version.
► The FAS-SR is a valid, cost-effective, and time-efficient measure of family accommodation.