Investigating the factor structure and validation of the electronic form of the Family Togetherness Scale (FTS) in university students during the corona crisis

The coronavirus outbreak has affected the use of printed forms tools, so validating the family functioning scale online can help solve problems in this area; therefore, this study aimed to validate the electronic form of the Family Togetherness Scale (FTS).

This descriptive study was conducted using a psychometric method. The statistical population consisted of all students of the Islamic Azad University of Tehran in 2020. The number of samples was determined based on psychometric criteria to 100 people for the convergent validity section and 695 for the construct validity section. The students were selected through cluster sampling method. Research data were collected through Family Togetherness Scale (FTS) and Family Assessment Device (FAD) in printed and electronic form by sending a questionnaire link to the participants' mobile phones. To examine the validity of the scale, content, concurrent, convergent, divergent, and factor analysis methods were used. We investigated its reliability using internal consistency and split-half reliability methods.

The findings of exploratory factor analysis showed that the electronic form of the Family Functioning Scale consists of five factors and has appropriate validity and reliability. Confirmatory factor analysis also confirmed the five-factor model. This questionnaire was performed along with the Family Assessment Questionnaire. The results indicated the positive significant correlation between two scales (r= 0.67; P< 0.001).

Based on the results, Family Togetherness Scale (FTS) can be used to assess family functioning in Iranian populations.