Family Environment Scale
The Family Environment Scale (FES) is used to measure the social-environmental characteristics of family. It was developed to measure social and environmental characteristics of all families.[1] It can be used in several ways, in family counseling and psychotherapy, to teach program evaluators about family systems, and in program evaluation.
Contents
Scale inventory
The scale is a 90-item inventory that has a 10 subscales measuring interpersonal Relationship dimension, the Personal Growth, and the System Maintenance.[2] The Relationship dimension includes measurements of cohesion, expressiveness, and conflict. Cohesion is the degree of commitment and support family members provide for one another, expressiveness is the extent to family members are encouraged to express their feelings directly, and conflict is the amount of openly expressed anger and conflict among family members.
Five subscales refer to Personal Growth: independence, achievement orientation, intellectual-cultural orientation, active-recreational orientation, and moral-religious emphasis. Independence assesses the extent to which family members are assertive, self-sufficient and make their own decisions. Achievement Orientation reflects how much activities are cast into an achievement oriented or competitive framework. Intellectual-cultural orientation measures the level of interest in political, intellectual, and cultural activities. Active-recreational orientation measures the amount of participation in social and recreational activities. Moral-religious emphasis assesses the emphasis on ethical and religious issues and values.
The final two subscales, organization and control, are for System Maintenance. These measure how much planning is put into family activities and responsibilities and how much set rules and procedures are used to run family life. Family Environment Scale
In addition, three separate forms of the FES are used to measure perception of the family. The Real Form (Form R) measures people's attitude about their family current environment, the Ideal Form (Form I) measures person's ideal family perception, and the Expectations Form (Form E) assess the family ability to withstand change.[1]
Ten scores derived from the subscales create an overall profile of the family environment. It takes about 20 minutes to complete the test. Based on these scores, families are then grouped into one of three family environment typologies based on their most salient characteristics.
Reliability and validity of FES
Reliability estimates for subscales measurements are consistent and test-retest intervals is significant and the validity of this scale is supported by evidence.[2]
See also
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Notes
References
- Moos, R. & Moos, B. (1994). Family Environment Scale Manual: Development, Applications, Research - Third Edition. Palo Alto, CA: Consulting Psychologist Press.
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External links
- [1] The Family Environment Scale
