# Adaptation and validation for use in Brazil of the Confusion, Hubbub, and Order Scale (CHAOS)

## TL;DR

This paper adapts and validates a scale to measure family chaos for use in Brazil, showing it works well with adolescents.

## Contribution

The paper provides a validated Brazilian Portuguese version of the CHAOS scale for measuring family chaos.

## Key findings

- The CAOS scale showed content and internal validity in Brazilian Portuguese.
- The scale had a unifactorial structure with acceptable fit after adjustments.
- Family chaos was linked to externalizing symptoms and stress in adolescents.

## Abstract

The Confusion, Hubbub, and Order Scale (CHAOS in English Version) was originally developed in the USA by Matheny et al (Bringing order out of chaos: psychometric characteristics of the confusion, hubbub, and order scale. Journal of Applied Developmental Psychology 16(3):429–444, 1995) to measure chaos in the family environment, characterized by confusion, lack of routine, and organization.

To present evidence of content validity, internal structure validity, and validity based on relationships with external measures of an adapted version of the CHAOS into Brasilian Portuguese with adolescents sample in São Paulo - Brasil.

Study 1 involved the translation/back-translation and adaptation of the scale into Brazilian Portuguese [here named “Escala de Confusão, Alvoroço e Ordem no Sistema familiar” (CAOS)], assessed by 5 judges. In Study 2, we conducted an exploratory factor analyses (EFA) to determine the scale’s factor structure (N = 180 adults). In Study 3, we carried out confirmatory factor analyses (CFA) to confirm the internal validity of the scale, along with complete structural equation modeling to explore convergent validity in another sample (N = 239 adolescents).

The CAOS scale displayed content validity, and the EFA and CFA showed a unifactorial structure (with some scale adjustments) with an acceptable fit. The family chaos latent factor was associated with externalizing symptoms and perceived stress in adolescents.

Overall, the Brazilian version of the scale presented evidence of construct, internal, and concurrent validity that indicate its usefulness in Brazil.

The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1186/s41155-024-00310-5.