Development and cross-cultural validation of the Family Triangulation Scale in five Latin American countries

Background: Family dynamics play a crucial role in the mental health of its members. Therefore, identifying and understanding of existing conflicts among family members can be valuable in analyzing family functioning, especially in the Latin American context characterized by its own cultural and social particularities. Objective: To develop and validate a scale on Family Triangulation (TRIFAM) specifically designed to evaluate the dynamics of triangulations in Latin American families. Method: The scale was developed through item generation based on Linares' theoretical model, expert review, a pilot study conducted in five countries, and content validation (Aiken's V > 0.90), resulting in 22 items for psychometric testing. The study included 1170 family members from five Latin American countries. An exploratory and confirmatory factor analysis was conducted, measurement invariance, validity in relation to other variables was assessed with the correlation coefficient with other relevant variables, and internal consistency were analyzed using the omega (ω) and alpha (α) coefficient. Results: Exploratory analysis and confirmatory factor analysis supported a four-factor correlated model with 22 items (CFI = 0.970; TLI = 0.966; SRMR = 0.032; RMSEA = 0.087). Also, TRIFAM showed invariance across gender, age groups and the presence of depressive or anxiety symptoms (ΔCFI<0.01 and ΔRMSEA<0.015). TRIFAM identified good validity with mental health variables and family components. In addition, optimal internal consistency coefficients were found for all four TRIFAM dimensions (ω >0.80). Conclusion: Our study found the TRIFAM to be a valid and reliable scale with four correlated dimensions (Manipulative, Equivocal, Complementary and Disconfirming) for non-clinical population in five countries of Latin America.