Psychometric evaluation of the 'Caregiver Factors Influencing Treatment' (Care-FIT) Inventory for child and adolescent eating disorders.

Background: The Caregiver Factors Influencing Treatment (Care-FIT) Inventory is a self-report measure containing two subscales, each with a three-factor structure, that respectively assess strengths and challenges present for adult caregivers of children and adolescents with eating disorders. This study examined the psychometric properties of the Care-FIT in a clinical sample.

Method: A sample of 141 participants completed the Care-FIT and comparison measures including the Parents versus Eating Disorders scale (PvED) and the Personal Wellbeing Index (PWI). Participants were adult caregivers who currently or recently participated in eating disorder treatment for a child or adolescent aged 6-18 years. Confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) was performed and receiver operator characteristic (ROC) curves were produced for each subscale, with Pearson correlations and Fisher's r-to-z transformations run to assess convergent and discriminant validity.

Results: Items that did not meet thresholds were removed, resulting in a 20-item measure which included two subscales: an 11-item Strengths scale and a 9-item Challenges scale. CFA yielded a three-factor structure for each scale that was a strong fit to the data, with good to high internal consistency and reliability (McDonald's omega for Strengths ω = 0.81 and Challenges ω = 0.70). Care-FIT Strengths scores were significantly positively correlated to PvED scores and Challenge scores were significantly negatively correlated to PWI scores with significant Fisher's r-to-z comparisons.

Conclusion: These results provide preliminary support for use of the Care-FIT during child and adolescent eating disorder treatment, with the intent of helping to inform clinical decision-making and treatment planning such as whether supportive or adjunctive treatments might benefit a particular family.