The Development and Validation of the FACES‐IV‐SF

Abstract

The Family Adaptability and Cohesion Scale IV (FACES-IV) was developed to capture the balanced and unbalanced levels of cohesion and flexibility in families. Although this measure has been shown to be valid and reliable, its length at 62 items limits utility and uptake in clinical and research settings. This paper details the development of a shorter form of the FACES-IV (the FACES-IV Short Form) using two studies. In the first study, three itemlevel analyses were used to identify 24 items that provided the best measurement of each of the scales of the FACES-IV. In the second study, the reliability, and convergent and divergent validity of the short form was tested. Results suggest that the FACES-IV-SF is a valid and reliable measure that adheres to the theory underlying the original FACES-IV but may be better utilized in clinical and research settings due to its brevity. Specific theoretical models for conceptualizing family functioning are critical for the development of evidence-based, family-oriented clinical approaches. Providing clear pathways by which unique constructs within family process impact one another to create specific patterns of family functioning is necessary to guide therapeutic intervention and scientific inquiry. One such theoretical model which has garnered a great deal of evidence is Olson's (2010; 2011) Circumplex Model. The Circumplex Model assumes three key dimensions in conceptualizing family functioning and interactions: cohesion, flexibility, and communication. This approach hypothesizes that healthy functioning families have balanced levels of cohesion (i.e., separated or connected, rather than disengaged or enmeshed) and flexibility (i.e., flexible or structured, rather than chaotic or rigid), while problematically functioning families report unbalanced levels of both. The third dimension of the model, communication, operates to facilitate the relative levels of cohesion and flexibility within families. In other words, communication in families allows family members to vacillate in their flexibility and cohesion. When communication is healthy, it supports family members' engagement with and responsiveness to one another. Measurement is a critical next step in conveying family functioning theory to clinical practice. Accordingly, alongside the development of the Circumplex Model, Olson (2010) developed the

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“…FACES-IV-SF was designed to assess family functioning based on Olson's Circumplex Model (2011) [40]. FACES-IV-SF contained 24 items with the eight subscales measuring Balanced Cohesion, Balanced Flexibility, Disengagement, Enmeshment, Rigidity, Chaos, Communication and Satisfaction, respectively [41]. All the items included in the scale were measured on a 5-point Likert scale.…”

“…Conversely, the lower the ratio score (below 1), the more unbalanced the family system. The Cronbach's alphas for the subscales ranged from 0.63 (Enmeshment) to 0.93 (Satisfaction) with a median of 0.81 [41].…”

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“…Earlier circumplex model was widely utilized in the field of psychology, treatment of marital family systems, and stress [ [136] , [137] , [138] ]. This study makes an important contribution to the literature by implementing the circumplex model for marital and family systems [ 32 ] in the organizational setting as well as utilizing the assessment tool FACE – Family Adaptability and Cohesion Evaluation scale [ 35 ] to measure the relational systems at the workplace. This study also adds to the paucity of research by exploring the relationship between workplace relational systems and mindfulness with employee work engagement.…”

“…The construct of relational systems has not yet been empirically tested yet therefore as advised by Kahn [ 31 ] to measure the three dimensions of relational systems i.e. Balanced Cohesion (Coh), Balanced Flexibility (Flex), and Communication (Com), this study adapted 9 items of FACE IV (Family Adaptability and Cohesion Evaluation) Scale [ 35 ]. This scale is widely used by clinical researchers and therapists to distinguish between healthy and problematic families.…”

“…Flexibility refers to the balance member maintains variation in their relationship. The communication dimension is explained as the way members communicate, respect level, and attention while coordinating with each other [ 35 ]. Positive relationships at work produce positive work-related outcomes [ 14 , 15 ].…”