Does the level of expressed emotion (LEE) questionnaire have the same factor structure for adolescents as it has for adults?

BACKGROUND: The level of expressed emotion (LEE) is a four-factor questionnaire that measures expressed emotion (EE) as perceived by the recipient. These factors are: perceived lack of emotional support, perceived intrusiveness, perceived irritation, and perceive criticism. The four factors of the LEE has previously been found to be related to psychological disorders and has good psychometric properties for adults. However, it has not previously been studied in adolescent populations. METHODS: A total of 311 adolescents participated in this study. Using structural equation modeling, confirmatory factor analyses were conducted to examine if the LEE also had the same four-factor structure for adolescents as it does for adults. RESULTS: The confirmatory factor analyses demonstrated that the LEE’s four-factor structure also applied to adolescents. The internal consistency of the scales were good and all the inter-correlations between the scales were significant. Additionally, the factors were significantly correlated to adolescent depressive and anxiety symptom score dimensions. CONCLUSION: These findings seem to indicate that the LEE may be a good instrument in the measurement of adolescents perceived EE.