Scale for Sub-dimensions of Family Relations

Abstract

The Scale for Sub-dimensions of Family Relations is a comprehensive Psychological Scale designed to assess various facets of family functioning, primarily focusing on two-parent households with more than one child. Developed through a validation process, the instrument measures 60 items across five critical sub-dimensions of relational dynamics, including problem-solving, communication quality, parental cooperation, maintenance of family hierarchies, and the expression of affection and sexuality. The scale provides detailed empirical data on how rules are negotiated, conflicts are resolved, and emotional support is distributed within the family unit.

Keywords

Family functioning, parental roles, communication, conflict resolution, family hierarchies, teamwork, affection, psychological assessment, Latino families, relational functioning.

Authors

Melgarejo, M. C.

Purpose

The primary purpose of the Scale for Sub-dimensions of Family Relations is to provide a detailed and quantifiable measure of the quality of interactions and relational processes within a nuclear family unit. It aims to identify specific areas of strength and weakness across key domains of family life, such as decision-making, emotional expression, and boundary establishment. The scale is particularly useful in research and clinical settings for understanding the complex dynamics that contribute to overall family well-being and identifying areas requiring therapeutic intervention.

The scale items are structured to capture nuances in behavior and perception among different family members (father, mother, and children), allowing for an analysis of shared authority, support systems, and the consistency of disciplinary practices between parents.

Construct

The scale measures the construct of Family Functioning by breaking it down into five distinct, empirically derived sub-dimensions. These sub-dimensions cover essential elements of modern systemic family theory, ranging from instrumental tasks (like rule-setting) to affective processes (like expressing empathy). The five identified dimensions are:

• Problem solving and responsibility: Focuses on how the family unit addresses difficulties and distributes accountability for tasks and outcomes.
• Parental teamwork and expressing affection: Assesses the degree of cooperation between parents regarding discipline and shared duties, alongside the open display of emotional closeness.
• Negotiating rules and routines and quality of sexual relations: This factor links the structural aspects of family governance (flexibility of rules) with the intimate relational quality between the parents.
• Communication, empathy, values, and principles: Measures the clarity, openness, and depth of verbal and non-verbal exchanges, as well as the adherence to and understanding of core family values.
• Maintenance of hierarchies: Examines the clarity and stability of parental authority and boundaries relative to the children, ensuring appropriate roles are maintained within the family structure.

Validity

The validity of the scale was established during its development and validation process, as detailed in the master’s thesis by Melgarejo (2008). While specific measures of content and criterion validity are not provided in the source excerpt, the strong internal consistency across the five derived factors supports its construct validity. The development process likely involved aligning the 60 items with established theoretical models of family systems, such as the Global Assessment of Relational Functioning (GARF), ensuring the items comprehensively cover the intended domains of family relations.

Reliability

The Reliability of the Scale for Sub-dimensions of Family Relations is high, as evidenced by the Cronbach’s Alpha coefficients reported for the five sub-dimensions. These coefficients demonstrate excellent internal consistency across the measured factors, indicating that the items within each factor are measuring the same underlying construct reliably.

• Problem solving and responsibility: 0.95
• Parental teamwork and expressing affection: 0.96
• Negotiating rules and routines and quality of sexual relations: 0.94
• Communication, empathy, values, and principles: 0.92
• Maintenance of hierarchies: 0.74

The coefficients for the first four factors are exceptionally high (above 0.90), while the coefficient for Maintenance of Hierarchies remains acceptable (0.74).

Factor Analysis

The Factor Analysis yielded five primary sub-dimensions, confirming the multidimensional nature of family functioning assessed by this instrument. The factors group related items concerning different aspects of relational life, from explicit behavioral rules to implicit emotional and sexual satisfaction. This robust factor structure allows researchers and clinicians to obtain a segmented profile of a family’s strengths and deficits rather than relying solely on a single global score.

The resulting five factors demonstrate that family dynamics are measured not only through observable interactions (like conflict resolution and task distribution) but also through abstract concepts such as shared values and the quality of the spousal relationship, including sexual communication.

Instrument

Test Type: Self-report questionnaire / Psychological scale

Format: 60 items, primarily using a 4-point Likert-type scale (Always [2] to Never [0]) or specific categorical options. The scoring includes provisions for a missing value [.] for “Does not apply,” especially when questions refer to a parent or sibling not present in the household structure.

Language Available: Developed in Spanish (as part of a Mexican Master’s Thesis and published in a compendium for Latino Families); English translation is available via the source compendium.

Population Group: Families (specifically two-parent families).

Age Group: Parents (adults) and children/youth (responses regarding interaction and behavior are collected or inferred).

Population Details: The scale is designed for use in two-parent families with more than one child, although scoring adjustments are noted for single-parent or only-child households. It has been documented for use with Latino Families and Youth, suggesting a cultural context for its original validation.

Test Methodology: The scale is administered to family members to assess their perceptions of relational dynamics across 60 questions. Scoring assigns values (0, 1, or 2) to responses, which are then aggregated by factor to calculate sub-dimension scores, providing a quantitative measure of family functioning.

Keywords

Family assessment, psychometrics, parent-child relationship, marital satisfaction, family conflict, rule negotiation, communication skills, family support, emotional expression.

Authors

Author ORCID Identifier: Not Available

Affiliation Email addresses: Not Available

Correspondence Address: Not Available (Primary author is M. C. Melgarejo, 2008)

Permissions & Fee and Test Year

Test Year: 2008 (Year of initial validation/thesis).

Permissions and Fee: Information regarding current licensing or fees is not provided. However, the instrument was published in the public resource, “Latino Families and Youth: A Compendium of Assessment Tools,” suggesting it may be available for academic and clinical use. The original PDF can be downloaded here: http://www.paho.org/hq/index.php?option=com_docman&task=doc_view&gid=23171&Itemid=

Reference’s

• Melgarejo, M. C. (2008). Construcción y validación de una escala que mide funcionamiento familiar. Tesis de Maestría. Crisol, Centro de Posgrado en Terapia Familiar. Cuernavaca, Morelos, México.
• Yingling, L., et al. (1998). GARF (Global Assessment of Relational Functioning).
• The scale instrument is published in: Latino Families and Youth: A Compendium of Assessment Tools, available online via the Pan American Health Organization (PAHO).

Items of the Scale for Sub-dimensions of Family Relations

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

1. Who makes the rules in the house?

a. We all come to an agreement [2]

b. Father [1] c. Mother [1] d. There are no rules [0]

2. When father makes a rule‚ can it be broken?

a. Never [2] b. Sometimes [1] c.Rarely [1] d. Always [0] e. Does notapply [.]

3. Are the rules made by mother more important than the rules made by father?

4. When there is disagreement about a rule‚ can it be negotiated?

5. Are household tasks distributed fairly among all family members‚ considering the ages of the children?

6. When father arrives home from work‚ is he willing to talk with everyone in the family?

7. When mother is very busy with household tasks‚ does she allow the children to come to her if they have a problem?

8. When everyone in the family is at home‚ is it possible to converse calmly?

9. Is there a harmonious climate in the home?

10. Is there tension in the home?

11. To what extent do family members communicate empathetically?

12. When mother is at home‚ does she communicate in the same way with each of her children?

13. When father arrives home from work‚ does he communicate with mother?

14. Does father communicate in the same way with all the children?

15. How much communication is there between siblings in the family?

16. When there is a problem in the family‚ what do father and mother do?

a. Seek solutions together [2] b. Remain indifferent [0] c. Allow shouting and hitting [0] d. Allow shouting [0]

17. How often do conflicts occur in the family?

18. What does father do when there is a conflict between the children?

a. Proposes a solution [2] b. Remains indifferent [0] c. Hits them and shouts at them [0] d. Shouts at them [0] e. Does not apply [0]

19. What does mother do when there is a conflict between the children?

a. Tries to reach an agreement [2] b. Remains indifferent [0] c. Hits them and shouts at them [0] d. Shouts at them [0] e. Does not apply [0]

20. How do father and mother discuss issues?

a. Peacefully [2] b. Violently‚ in front of the children [0] c. Violently‚ in their bedroom [0] d. Does not apply [0]

21. Do the parents have their own space in the house‚ separate from the children?

22. Do father and mother engage in activities outside the home in which the children are not involved?

23. Can father engage in activities other than work in which mother and the children are not involved?

24. Can mother engage in activities outside the home in which father and the children are not involved?

25. Can the children engage in activities that do not involve father and mother?

26. Does father respect and enforce the disciplinary limits that mother establishes?

27. Does mother respect and enforce the disciplinary limits that father establishes?

28. On whom can mother rely for support when there are problems?

a. On father [2] b. On one of the children [1] c. On some other family member or friend [0]

29. On whom can father rely for support when there are problems?

a. On mother [2] b. On one of the children [1] c. On some other family member or friend [0]

30. When there are conflicts between siblings‚ do they rely on themselves to find a solution?

31. Do mother and father have the same level of authority in the household?

32. Do mother’s and father’s opinions have the same influence in decision-making?

33. Are mother’s decisions more important than those of father?

34. When conflicts occur‚ are the consequences the responsibility of mother and father equally?

35. Does any child in the family have the same level of authority as father and mother?

36. Can mother openly express her feelings?

37. Can father openly express his feelings?

38. Can every child express his/her feelings‚ whether positive or negative?

39. Are feelings expressed openly within the family?

40. When there is a conflict in the family‚ can every member express his/her feelings openly?

41. If mother is ill‚ does she receive care and support from father?

42. If father is ill‚ does he receive care and support from mother?

43. Do the children support father and mother when the parents have a problem?

44. When the siblings have problems‚ do they support each other?

45. Do all members of the family feel equally supported?

46. Do mother and father agree on the principles that govern this family?

47. Do the children understand the values that govern this family?

a. Very well [2] b. A little [1] c. Not at all [0]

48. Are the important values and principles for this family explained clearly‚ with examples?

49. Do all members of this family feel committed to its values and principles?

50. Is important in this family to have values and principles?

a. Very much [2] b. A little [1] c. Not at all [0]

51. Does mother feel loved and supported by father?

52. Does father feel loved and supported by mother?

53. Do the children feel loved‚ accepted‚ and respected in this family?

54. Does mother feel respected by father?

55. Does father feel respected by mother?

(This part will be answered only by the parents of the family)

56. Does mother feel free to express to father what pleases her sexually?

57. Does father feel satisfied sexually?

58. Can father and mother communicate about sex without fear of being judged by the other?

59. Does mother feel satisfied sexually?

60. Does anyone in the family speak freely with the children about sexuality?

Items without specified response options use the following: a. Always [2] b. Sometimes [1] c.Rarely [1] d. Never [0] e. Does not apply [.] [.] = missing value (only used for questions that refer to the father or the mother)