How is your Family?—Brief scale for parents Fundación W. K. Kellogg. 1996

Abstract

The How is your Family?—Brief scale for parents is an 11-item self-report psychometric scale developed by the Fundación W. K. Kellogg in 1996. Designed for administration to parents, the instrument provides a rapid assessment of key aspects of family functioning and interaction quality. It specifically measures two core dimensions: the quality of communication and connection between spouses/partners, and the general level of connection and shared activity within the nuclear family unit. This brief scale has been widely utilized in public health studies, particularly those focusing on youth and Latino Families, serving as an indicator of family health and resilience.

Keywords

Family communication, spousal connection, parental scale, nuclear family, family relationships, assessment tool, Fundación W. K. Kellogg, Latino Families

Authors

Fundación W. K. Kellogg

Purpose

The primary purpose of the scale is to quickly gauge the perceived health and functionality of the family environment, as reported by a parental figure. By focusing on specific behaviors related to communication, emotional expression, and shared activities, the instrument aims to identify families that may be experiencing deficits in these areas. This information is crucial for public health interventions and programs focused on promoting adolescent well-being, as strong family relationships are foundational to positive youth outcomes. The brief nature of the scale makes it suitable for large-scale epidemiological studies or clinical settings where time is limited.

The scale was developed as part of a larger manual concerning indicators of adolescent health, suggesting its application is often tied to preventative measures and identifying risk factors within the family structure that might impact youth development.

Construct

The scale measures the overarching construct of Family Functioning, which is operationalized through eleven items distributed across two primary sub-constructs:

• Communication-Connection between spouses/partners: This dimension assesses the quality of the marital or co-parenting relationship, focusing on mutual understanding, ease of emotional expression, satisfaction with dialogue, and reliance on each other during difficult situations.
• Communication-Connection within the nuclear family: This dimension assesses the overall family environment, including shared responsibilities, frequency of shared meals and free time, and the general availability of parents (mother and father) to converse daily with the children.

The instrument provides a quantitative measure of the perceived closeness and interactive quality of the family system, which are essential components of structural and relational health.

Validity

Specific detailed validity studies (e.g., convergent, discriminant, or criterion validity) for this brief, 11-item version are typically housed within the comprehensive manuals published by the Pan American Health Organization (PAHO) and the Fundación W. K. Kellogg. Given its inclusion in authoritative compendiums of assessment tools for Latino Families, the scale is presumed to possess sufficient face validity and content validity for its intended population and purpose. Researchers utilizing this instrument are advised to consult the original 1996 and 1999 manuals for detailed reports on its psychometric properties and population norms.

Reliability

Information regarding the specific internal consistency (e.g., Cronbach’s Alpha) or test-retest reliability of the “How is your Family?” brief scale is found primarily within its original technical documentation. As a brief measure designed for rapid assessment, it is expected to demonstrate acceptable levels of internal consistency for screening purposes. Users should reference the full technical manuals, particularly those published by the Organización Pan Americana de la Salud (OPS), which often include reliability data derived from large-scale regional studies.

Factor Analysis

While the scale items naturally group into two conceptual factors—Spousal Connection (Items 2-5) and Nuclear Family Interaction (Items 1, 6-11)—formal documentation of exploratory or confirmatory factor analysis (EFA/CFA) confirming this structure is detailed in the original source manuals. The clear thematic division of the 11 items suggests a two-factor structure consistent with the theoretical framework of comprehensive family assessment tools, separating dyadic parental functioning from overall family system dynamics.

Instrument

Test Type: Brief self-report psychometric scale

Format: 11 items responded to using a modified 5-point rating scale.

Language Available: Primarily Spanish (original context), with translations available in English and likely other languages utilized by the Pan American Health Organization (PAHO).

Population Group: Parents (Mothers and Fathers)

Age Group: Adults (Parents of adolescents/youth)

Population Details: Primarily validated and used within studies concerning Hispanic and Latino Families in the Americas.

Test Methodology: Self-administered questionnaire. Point values are assigned on a non-linear scale reflecting frequency:

• 0 = Never
• 0 = Very rarely
• 1 = Sometimes
• 2 = Frequently
• 2 = Almost always

All questions must be answered by the respondent.

Keywords

Psychometric assessment, family health, parent-report measure, adolescent indicators, W. K. Kellogg Foundation, communication quality, brief instrument

Authors

Author ORCID Identifier: Not applicable (Institutional Author)

Affiliation Email addresses: Not specified

Correspondence Address: Fundación W. K. Kellogg (Original publication details available via the 1996/1999 Washington, D.C. manuals).

Permissions & Fee and Test Year

The scale was developed and published in 1996 under the auspices of the Fundación W. K. Kellogg. Given its inclusion in public health manuals distributed by the Pan American Health Organization (PAHO), the instrument is generally considered to be in the public domain for non-commercial research and public health application, though formal permission should be sought for commercial use. The instrument is often found within a larger collection of tools designed for assessing indicators of adolescent health.

This instrument can be found on pages 21-23 of Latino Families and Youth: A Compendium of Assessment Tools. The original PDF can be downloaded here: http://www.codajic.org/sites/www.codajic.org/files/Binder-orpinas%20meassurement.pdf

Reference’s

The primary references for the scale include:

• Fundación W. K. Kellogg. (1996). Familia y adolescencia: Indicadores de salud. Manual de Aplicación de Instrumentos. Washington, D.C. The original PDF manual is available here: http://www.paho.org/Spanish/HPP/HPF/ADOL/Family.pdf
• Organización Pan Americana de la Salud [OPS]. (1999). Familia y Adolescencia. Indicadores de Salud. Manual de aplicación de instrumentos e instrumento abreviado. Washington, D.C.
• The instrument is also available online in the Latino Families and Youth: A Compendium of Assessment Tools: http://www.paho.org/hq/index.php?option=com_docman&task=doc_view&gid=23171&Itemid=

Items of the How is your Family?—Brief scale for parents Fundación W. K. Kellogg. 1996

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

Communication-Connection between spouses

In our family:

1. The father spends time every day talking with the children.
2. I am satisfied with the way my spouse/partner and I talk with each other.
3. It is easy to express my feelings to my spouse/partner.
4. My spouse/partner understands me.
5. If I am in a difficult situation‚ I talk about it with my spouse/partner

Communication-Connection within the nuclear family

In our family:

6. We share household tasks and responsibilities.
7. Each member of the family expresses what he/she desires or thinks.
8. We like to spend our free time together.
9. The mother spends time every day talking with the children.
10. We share some meals every day.
11. We get together at some point during the day to converse and/or do some shared activity?