Abstract
OBJECTIVE: The enabling behaviors of family members of psychoactive substance users can be crucial in maintaining addiction. There are no psychometrically evaluated instruments to measure the frequency of the enabling behaviors of family members of psychoactive substance users. Therefore, this study aimed to assess the internal consistency and factor structure of the Behavioral Enabling Scale. DESIGN: A cross-sectional study was carried out, with a secondary analysis of data collected from 400 family members of psychoactive substance users that used a hotline service in Brazil. Exploratory factor analysis was conducted with an initial sample of 200 protocols, and with the remaining 200 protocols, a confirmatory factor analysis was conducted. RESULTS: The internal consistency estimate proved entirely satisfactory in both samples, where the first presented a Cronbach's alpha of 0.76 and the second had a consistency estimate of 0.79. Factor analysis was conducted using a shortened version of the instrument, with 15 items, during which six factors that cover 65% of the scale's explained variance were extracted. KMO = 0.68 and Bartlett's test of sphericity = X(2) (gl = 153) 497.201, p < 0.0001, were significant. CONCLUSION: The Brazilian version of the Behavioral Enabling Scale is a valid tool that measures the frequency of the enabling behaviors of family members of psychoactive substance users. The measurement instrument enables further investigations into the behavior of family members regarding the use of psychoactive substances by their relatives.