Family, Friends, and Self Form (FFS)

Abstract

The Family, Friend, and Self Form (FFS) is a multi-dimensional psychological scale designed for the assessment of key psychosocial variables in youth and adolescents. Developed primarily for research and clinical practice, the FFS focuses on three critical domains of adolescent development: family environment, peer relationships, and self-perception, including measures of self-esteem and environmental satisfaction. The instrument provides a structured means of measuring constructs such as family warmth, conflict, and control, as well as peer influence regarding both conventional and delinquent activities. The FFS is recognized for its high levels of internal consistency across its ten distinct subscales.

Keywords

Family dynamics, Peer relationships, Adolescent assessment, Self-esteem, Family conflict, Family warmth, Psychological scale, Youth assessment.

Authors

Simpson, D. D., McBride, A. A.

Purpose

The primary purpose of the Family, Friend, and Self Form (FFS) is to capture a detailed, multi-faceted snapshot of an adolescent’s psychosocial environment and internal adjustment. It is specifically intended to measure how the youth perceives the quality of their family interactions, the nature and influence of their peer group, and their personal level of satisfaction and self-worth.

This instrument is valuable in clinical and research settings for identifying risk and protective factors associated with adolescent development, particularly concerning delinquency, academic success, and overall well-being. By partitioning assessment into distinct domains—Family, Friends, and Self—the FFS allows practitioners to pinpoint specific areas requiring intervention or further study.

Construct

The FFS is constructed to measure ten distinct psychological and social constructs, which are broadly categorized into three sections: Family, Friends/Peers, and Self/Environment. These constructs are measured across the three parts (A, B, and C) of the questionnaire.

The measured constructs include: Family Warmth, which assesses emotional connection and support; Family Control, which measures parental monitoring and strictness; and Family Conflict, which gauges the prevalence of arguments and negative interactions. Peer-related constructs include Peer Activity, Trouble (measuring delinquent peer associations), Familiarity with Parents (measuring parental knowledge of peers), and Conventional Involvement (measuring peer engagement in prosocial activities). Finally, internal and external satisfaction is assessed via Self-esteem, Environment Satisfaction, and School Satisfaction.

Validity

While specific detailed validity studies (such as construct, criterion, or predictive validity coefficients) are not explicitly detailed in the summary source content, the initial development and widespread use of the FFS suggest established face and content validity covering critical areas of adolescent life. The scale’s structure, derived from factor analysis (implied by the clear separation of ten distinct subscales), supports the theoretical differentiation between family dynamics, peer influence, and personal adjustment.

Reliability

The FFS demonstrates strong internal reliability, as evidenced by high Cronbach’s alpha coefficients reported across all subscales. These coefficients indicate excellent internal consistency, meaning that the items within each subscale reliably measure the intended underlying construct.

The reported reliability coefficients are:

• Family Warmth: alpha = .912
• Family Control: alpha = .739
• Family Conflict: alpha = .769
• Peer Activity: alpha = .821
• Trouble: alpha = .858
• Familiarity with Parents: alpha = .774
• Conventional Involvement: alpha = .725
• Self-esteem: alpha = .751
• Environment Satisfaction: alpha = .821 (Note: This coefficient is listed twice in the source, suggesting robust measurement of environmental factors.)
• School Satisfaction: alpha = .794

Factor Analysis

The FFS instrument is structured around ten empirically derived factors, suggesting a robust multi-factor model. The grouping of items into these specific subscales (listed below) confirms that the scale developers utilized statistical methods, likely including exploratory or confirmatory factor analysis, to ensure that items loaded appropriately onto their respective theoretical constructs (e.g., Family Warmth items cluster together, separate from Peer Trouble items).

The specific item breakdowns for each factor are:

• Family Warmth: Items A:1, 2, 8, 10, 15, 19, 22, 25, 27, 31, and 32.
• Family Control: Items A: 3, 7, 12*, 20*, 24, 26*, and 30.
• Family Conflict: Items A: 6, 11, 14, 18.
• Peer Activity: Items A: 4, 9, 16, 21, and 29.
• Trouble: Items B: 7, 8, 11, 12, 14, 17, 18.
• Familiarity with Parents: Items B: 2, 4, 10, 15.
• Conventional Involvement: Items B: 1, 3, 5, 6*, 9, 13, 16.
• Self-esteem: Items A: 5, 13, 17, 23, 28.
• Environment Satisfaction: Items C: 2, 3, 4, 6, 8, 10.
• School Satisfaction: Items C: 1, 5, 7, 9.

Items marked with an asterisk (*) are “reflected” items, requiring reverse scoring due to their negative weighting relative to the overall scale construct.

Instrument

Test Type: Self-report questionnaire, multi-dimensional assessment.

Format: The instrument is divided into three sections (Part A, Part B, Part C) utilizing distinct 5-point Likert response scales. It consists of 60 items in total.

Language Available: English (Original development context suggests potential use or adaptation in Spanish, though the provided items are in English).

Population Group: Youth and Adolescents.

Age Group: Typically utilized with middle to high school aged youth.

Population Details: Originally validated in a study focusing on Mexican American youth, but subsequently used for general adolescent populations in research settings.

Test Methodology: Administration involves three separate Likert scales:

• Part A (Family/Self): (0) never, (1) rarely, (2) sometimes, (3) often, and (4) almost always.
• Part B (Friends): (0) none, (1) a few, (2) some, (3) most, and (4) all.
• Part C (Satisfaction/Environment): (0) very unhappy, (1) mostly unhappy, (2) neither happy nor unhappy, (3) mostly happy, and (4) very happy.

Scores for negatively worded items (marked with an asterisk) must be reversed before averaging scale scores.

Keywords

Adolescent mental health, Family functioning, Peer influence, Social environment, Likert scale, Psychological measurement, Mexican American youth.

Authors

Author ORCID Identifier: N/A

Affiliation Email addresses: N/A

Correspondence Address: N/A

Permissions & Fee and Test Year

Test Year: 1992 (Original publication).

Permissions and Fee: Information regarding current licensing or fees is not provided in the source material. Researchers should consult the original authors or publishers (Oxford University Press for the sourcebook) for usage rights.

The original PDF of the instrument and related research can be downloaded here: http://eprints.gla.ac.uk/57813/1/57813.pdf

Reference’s

Simpson, D. D., and McBride, A. A. (1992). Family, Friends, and Self (FFS) Assessment Scales for Mexican American Youth. Hispanic Journal of Behavioral Sciences 14(3), 327-340.

Simpson, D. D., and McBride, A. A. (1992). Family, Friend, and Self Form (FFS). In Fischer, Joel., Corcoran, Kevin J. (2007). Measures for Clinical Practice and research: A sourcebook. (4th ed.). NY. Oxford University Pr. Vol. 1, Page(s): 532-536.

Jepson, R. and Gray, C.M. (2009) Exploring Potential Approaches to Measuring Personal and Interpersonal Progress with Young People Referred to Includem. Project Report. Glasgow Centre for Population Health. (Unpublished). Retrieved from: http://eprints.gla.ac.uk/57813/

Items of the Family‚ Friend‚ and Self Form (FFS)

IMPORTANT: The following scale items must be preserved in their original language and must not be changed in any way.

Part A

1. Is there a feeling of togetherness in your family?
2. Are there times each day when your family is all together?
3. Are there exact rules that you have to follow in your family?
4. Do you spend time hanging out with your friends?
5. Can you think of things that you like about yourself?
6. Do members of your family say bad things about each other?
7. How often do your parents punish you in some way when you do something wrong?
8. How often do your parents try to understand what you need to be happy?
9. Do you spend a lot of your free time with friends?
10. How often does your family sit down to eat together at the same time?
11. How often do members of your family really get mad at one another?
12. Do you make more decisions than your parents about things you do and places you go?*
13. Are you proud of how you act and the things you do?
14. How often do your family members hit or yell at each other?
15. How often do your parents pay attention to what you say?
16. How often do you and your friends spend time together after school or work?
17. Do you think you have a lot to be proud of?
18. Are there many arguments or fights in your family?
19. How often do your family members try to cheer you up when you’re sad?
20. Do your parents let you go anywhere you please without asking?*
21. Do your best friends spend a lot of time hanging out?
22. How often do your parents tell you they love and care about you?
23. Are you happy and satisfied with yourself?
24. How often do your parents make decisions for you?
25. When you have a problem‚ does someone in your family help you out?
26. Do your parents let you off easy when you do something wrong?*
27. How often do your parents really listen to your problems?
28. When you do something‚ do you think you do it well?
29. Do you spend time at your friends houses?
30. Are there definite rules set in your family?
31. How often do your parents make you feel they love you?
32. How often does your family try to do things that are fun for everyone?

Part B

1. How many of your friends like to play sports?
2. How many of your friends know your parents?
3. How many of your friends get all good grades at school?
4. How many of your friends do your parents like?
5. How many of your friends like school?
6. How many of your friends do homework after school or at night?*
7. How many of your friends do things that may get them into trouble with the law?
8. How many of your friends have ever used a weapon (like a gun‚ knife‚ or club) in a serious fight?
9. How many of your friends want to go to college?
10. How of your friends like your parents?
11. How many of your friends have been in trouble with the police because of alcohol or drugs?
12. How many of your friends have quit or want to quit school?
13. How many of your friends are in clubs or other organizations such as scouts?
14. How many of your friends have damaged other peoples’ property on purpose?
15. How many of your friends do your parents know?
16. How many of your friends like to read books after school?
17. How many of your friends have ever been stopped or picked up by the police?
18. How many of your friends do things that might get them into trouble at school?

Part C

1. How do you feel about your school?
2. How do you feel about your family?
3. How do you feel about the house or place where you live?
4. How do you feel about the things your family have‚ like bicycles‚ cars‚ TVs‚ radios‚ and other things?
5. How do feel about your teachers at school?
6. How do you feel about the amount of money you and your family have?
7. How do you feel about the courses you are taking at school?
8. How do feel about the way you get along with your parents?
9. How do you feel about your school principal?
10. How do you feel about your life in general?