Development and Validation of The Early Life Experiences andCopingStrategies Scale for Adults with Obsessive Compulsive Disorder

Abstract

The  aim of this study was to develop and validate The Early Life Experiences and Coping strategies scale for Adult with Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder . A cultural sensitive therapeutic screening tool, designed to identify the impacts of early life factors, including parenting styles, childhood traumas and maladaptive coping strategies on the development of obsessive compulsive tendencies in young adults specifically in the context of Pakistani Culture. The development of “ELE-CSS” followed a rigorous methodology, utilizing a mix method approach, dividing the study into five phases, that included purposive sampling in which interview were conducted from eight OCD diagnosed Patients. Succeeded by expert’s content validation by clinical psychologist. The semi structured interview questions were designed in accordance to research's objective, these questions included adverse childhood experiences, parenting styles, coping strategies and family histories. Preliminary set of 29 items were refined by expert evaluation, that was finalized for pilot study (N = 62) and explanatory factor analysis. Factor analysis identified three principal factors: “Emotional Neglect,Parental Rejection and childhood stress, Parental Control, Trauma and Avoidance and perfectionistic parenting and Coping Strategies for Illness Symptoms culminating in a 21-item scale. The scale exhibited exceptional reliability (Cronbach’s alpha = 0.71) and test-retest stability, affirming its efficacy as a tool for screening out early life experiences that had an effect on Obsessive Compulsive tendencies etiology. Moreover, evaluations of convergent and divergent validity demonstrated the scale's precision. This tool would have great clinical Implications.
Keywords: childhood traumas, parenting styles, obsessive-compulsive tendencies, coping strategies, scale development, pakistani cultural factors.