Measuring dissociation across adolescence and adulthood: developing the short-form Černis Felt Sense of Anomaly scale (ČEFSA-14)

Emma Černis; Bao S Loe; Katie Lofthouse; Polly Waite; Andrew Molodynski; Anke Ehlers; Daniel Freeman

doi:10.1017/S1352465823000498

Measuring dissociation across adolescence and adulthood: developing the short-form Černis Felt Sense of Anomaly scale (ČEFSA-14)

Emma Černis^*, Bao S Loe, Katie Lofthouse, Polly Waite, Andrew Molodynski, Anke Ehlers, Daniel Freeman

^*Corresponding author for this work

Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review

63 Downloads (Pure)

Abstract

BACKGROUND: Dissociation may be important across many mental health disorders, but has been variously conceptualised and measured. We introduced a conceptualisation of a common type of dissociative experience, 'felt sense of anomaly' (FSA), and developed a corresponding measure, the Černis Felt Sense of Anomaly (ČEFSA) scale.

AIMS: We aimed to develop a short-form version of the ČEFSA that is valid for adolescent and adult respondents.

METHOD: Data were collected from 1031 adult NHS patients with psychosis and 932 adult and 1233 adolescent non-clinical online survey respondents. Local structural equation modelling (LSEM) was used to establish measurement invariance of items across the age range. Ant colony optimisation (ACO) was used to produce a 14-item short-form measure. Finally, the expected test score function derived from item response theory modelling guided the establishment of interpretive scoring ranges.

RESULTS: LSEM indicated 25 items of the original 35-item ČEFSA were age invariant. They were also invariant across gender and clinical status. ACO of these items produced a 14-item short-form (ČEFSA-14) with excellent psychometric properties (CFI=0.992; TLI=0.987; RMSEA=0.034; SRMR=0.017; Cronbach's alpha=0.92). Score ranges were established based on the expected test scores at approximately 0.7, 1.25 and 2.0 theta (equivalent to standard deviations above the mean). Scores of 29 and above may indicate elevated levels of FSA-dissociation.

CONCLUSIONS: The ČEFSA-14 is a psychometrically valid measure of FSA-dissociation for adolescents and adults. It can be used with clinical and non-clinical respondents. It could be used by clinicians as an initial tool to explore dissociation with their clients.

Original language	English
Pages (from-to)	1-15
Number of pages	15
Journal	Behavioural and Cognitive Psychotherapy
Early online date	6 Nov 2023
DOIs	https://doi.org/10.1017/S1352465823000498
Publication status	E-pub ahead of print - 6 Nov 2023

Bibliographical note

Financial support
The work was supported by the Wellcome Trust via a Clinical Doctoral Fellowship to E.Č. (grant number 102176/B/13/Z). Additionally, the community adolescent data were collected as part of K.L.’s undergraduate degree and was supported by funding from the University of Oxford Department of Experimental Psychology and University College, University of Oxford. P.W. is funded by an NIHR Development and Skills Enhancement Award (NIHR 302843). D.F. is an NIHR Senior Investigator and supported by the Oxford Health NIHR Biomedical Research Centre. A.E. is funded by the Wellcome Trust (200796) and supported by the Oxford Health NIHR Biomedical Research Centre and a NIHR Senior Investigator Award. The views expressed are those of the authors and not necessarily those of the National Health Service, the NIHR, or Department of Health and Social Care.

Keywords

Adolescents
Adults
Dissociation
Felt sense of anomaly
Measurement
Psychometrics

UN SDGs

This output contributes to the following UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)

Access to Document

10.1017/S1352465823000498Licence: Creative Commons: Attribution (CC BY)

ČernisE2023MeasuringFinal published version, 420 KBLicence: Creative Commons: Attribution (CC BY)

Cite this

@article{5637ca0dd8544095aa474044366090d4,

title = "Measuring dissociation across adolescence and adulthood: developing the short-form {\v C}ernis Felt Sense of Anomaly scale ({\v C}EFSA-14)",

abstract = "BACKGROUND: Dissociation may be important across many mental health disorders, but has been variously conceptualised and measured. We introduced a conceptualisation of a common type of dissociative experience, 'felt sense of anomaly' (FSA), and developed a corresponding measure, the {\v C}ernis Felt Sense of Anomaly ({\v C}EFSA) scale.AIMS: We aimed to develop a short-form version of the {\v C}EFSA that is valid for adolescent and adult respondents.METHOD: Data were collected from 1031 adult NHS patients with psychosis and 932 adult and 1233 adolescent non-clinical online survey respondents. Local structural equation modelling (LSEM) was used to establish measurement invariance of items across the age range. Ant colony optimisation (ACO) was used to produce a 14-item short-form measure. Finally, the expected test score function derived from item response theory modelling guided the establishment of interpretive scoring ranges.RESULTS: LSEM indicated 25 items of the original 35-item {\v C}EFSA were age invariant. They were also invariant across gender and clinical status. ACO of these items produced a 14-item short-form ({\v C}EFSA-14) with excellent psychometric properties (CFI=0.992; TLI=0.987; RMSEA=0.034; SRMR=0.017; Cronbach's alpha=0.92). Score ranges were established based on the expected test scores at approximately 0.7, 1.25 and 2.0 theta (equivalent to standard deviations above the mean). Scores of 29 and above may indicate elevated levels of FSA-dissociation.CONCLUSIONS: The {\v C}EFSA-14 is a psychometrically valid measure of FSA-dissociation for adolescents and adults. It can be used with clinical and non-clinical respondents. It could be used by clinicians as an initial tool to explore dissociation with their clients.",

keywords = "Adolescents, Adults, Dissociation, Felt sense of anomaly, Measurement, Psychometrics",

author = "Emma {\v C}ernis and Loe, {Bao S} and Katie Lofthouse and Polly Waite and Andrew Molodynski and Anke Ehlers and Daniel Freeman",

note = "Financial support The work was supported by the Wellcome Trust via a Clinical Doctoral Fellowship to E.{\v C}. (grant number 102176/B/13/Z). Additionally, the community adolescent data were collected as part of K.L.{\textquoteright}s undergraduate degree and was supported by funding from the University of Oxford Department of Experimental Psychology and University College, University of Oxford. P.W. is funded by an NIHR Development and Skills Enhancement Award (NIHR 302843). D.F. is an NIHR Senior Investigator and supported by the Oxford Health NIHR Biomedical Research Centre. A.E. is funded by the Wellcome Trust (200796) and supported by the Oxford Health NIHR Biomedical Research Centre and a NIHR Senior Investigator Award. The views expressed are those of the authors and not necessarily those of the National Health Service, the NIHR, or Department of Health and Social Care.",

year = "2023",

month = nov,

day = "6",

doi = "10.1017/S1352465823000498",

language = "English",

pages = "1--15",

journal = "Behavioural and Cognitive Psychotherapy",

issn = "1352-4658",

publisher = "Cambridge University Press",

}

TY - JOUR

T1 - Measuring dissociation across adolescence and adulthood

T2 - developing the short-form Černis Felt Sense of Anomaly scale (ČEFSA-14)

AU - Černis, Emma

AU - Loe, Bao S

AU - Lofthouse, Katie

AU - Waite, Polly

AU - Molodynski, Andrew

AU - Ehlers, Anke

AU - Freeman, Daniel

N1 - Financial support The work was supported by the Wellcome Trust via a Clinical Doctoral Fellowship to E.Č. (grant number 102176/B/13/Z). Additionally, the community adolescent data were collected as part of K.L.’s undergraduate degree and was supported by funding from the University of Oxford Department of Experimental Psychology and University College, University of Oxford. P.W. is funded by an NIHR Development and Skills Enhancement Award (NIHR 302843). D.F. is an NIHR Senior Investigator and supported by the Oxford Health NIHR Biomedical Research Centre. A.E. is funded by the Wellcome Trust (200796) and supported by the Oxford Health NIHR Biomedical Research Centre and a NIHR Senior Investigator Award. The views expressed are those of the authors and not necessarily those of the National Health Service, the NIHR, or Department of Health and Social Care.

PY - 2023/11/6

Y1 - 2023/11/6

N2 - BACKGROUND: Dissociation may be important across many mental health disorders, but has been variously conceptualised and measured. We introduced a conceptualisation of a common type of dissociative experience, 'felt sense of anomaly' (FSA), and developed a corresponding measure, the Černis Felt Sense of Anomaly (ČEFSA) scale.AIMS: We aimed to develop a short-form version of the ČEFSA that is valid for adolescent and adult respondents.METHOD: Data were collected from 1031 adult NHS patients with psychosis and 932 adult and 1233 adolescent non-clinical online survey respondents. Local structural equation modelling (LSEM) was used to establish measurement invariance of items across the age range. Ant colony optimisation (ACO) was used to produce a 14-item short-form measure. Finally, the expected test score function derived from item response theory modelling guided the establishment of interpretive scoring ranges.RESULTS: LSEM indicated 25 items of the original 35-item ČEFSA were age invariant. They were also invariant across gender and clinical status. ACO of these items produced a 14-item short-form (ČEFSA-14) with excellent psychometric properties (CFI=0.992; TLI=0.987; RMSEA=0.034; SRMR=0.017; Cronbach's alpha=0.92). Score ranges were established based on the expected test scores at approximately 0.7, 1.25 and 2.0 theta (equivalent to standard deviations above the mean). Scores of 29 and above may indicate elevated levels of FSA-dissociation.CONCLUSIONS: The ČEFSA-14 is a psychometrically valid measure of FSA-dissociation for adolescents and adults. It can be used with clinical and non-clinical respondents. It could be used by clinicians as an initial tool to explore dissociation with their clients.

AB - BACKGROUND: Dissociation may be important across many mental health disorders, but has been variously conceptualised and measured. We introduced a conceptualisation of a common type of dissociative experience, 'felt sense of anomaly' (FSA), and developed a corresponding measure, the Černis Felt Sense of Anomaly (ČEFSA) scale.AIMS: We aimed to develop a short-form version of the ČEFSA that is valid for adolescent and adult respondents.METHOD: Data were collected from 1031 adult NHS patients with psychosis and 932 adult and 1233 adolescent non-clinical online survey respondents. Local structural equation modelling (LSEM) was used to establish measurement invariance of items across the age range. Ant colony optimisation (ACO) was used to produce a 14-item short-form measure. Finally, the expected test score function derived from item response theory modelling guided the establishment of interpretive scoring ranges.RESULTS: LSEM indicated 25 items of the original 35-item ČEFSA were age invariant. They were also invariant across gender and clinical status. ACO of these items produced a 14-item short-form (ČEFSA-14) with excellent psychometric properties (CFI=0.992; TLI=0.987; RMSEA=0.034; SRMR=0.017; Cronbach's alpha=0.92). Score ranges were established based on the expected test scores at approximately 0.7, 1.25 and 2.0 theta (equivalent to standard deviations above the mean). Scores of 29 and above may indicate elevated levels of FSA-dissociation.CONCLUSIONS: The ČEFSA-14 is a psychometrically valid measure of FSA-dissociation for adolescents and adults. It can be used with clinical and non-clinical respondents. It could be used by clinicians as an initial tool to explore dissociation with their clients.

KW - Adolescents

KW - Adults

KW - Dissociation

KW - Felt sense of anomaly

KW - Measurement

KW - Psychometrics

U2 - 10.1017/S1352465823000498

DO - 10.1017/S1352465823000498

M3 - Article

C2 - 37926868

SN - 1352-4658

SP - 1

EP - 15

JO - Behavioural and Cognitive Psychotherapy

JF - Behavioural and Cognitive Psychotherapy

ER -

Measuring dissociation across adolescence and adulthood: developing the short-form Černis Felt Sense of Anomaly scale (ČEFSA-14)

Abstract

Bibliographical note

Keywords

UN SDGs

Access to Document

Fingerprint

Cite this