Os pilares invisíveis da família: construção e validação do “4ever family questionnaire”

The family experience is an unrepeatable domain for each person and group that experiences it. In the family universe, a set of relationships, dynamics and processes are experienced that are effectively different from those experienced in other domains. The singularity of the family universe becomes even more salient if we consider the singular lenses of each member. No two families are alike and, even if part of the same family, two people will have different views on it. In this scenario of subjectivity, the authors defined - based on a literature review and clinical/psycho-educational experience with families - a theoretical model based on four conceptual categories that they considered the mainstays of the family experience: intimacy, cohesion, continuity and transcendence. Based on this model, they propose the construction and validation of an instrument that evaluates the perception of adult individuals about the family experience.
OBJECTIVES
- To develop and validate an instrument to assess family experience
- To study the psychometric characteristics of the instrument
- To analyse the predictive and concurrent validity of the measure, exploring its relations with measures of the perceived quality of family relationships, well-being and mental health
METHOD
The research protocol was applied online using Qualtrics Survey Software. The convenience sample included 913 Portuguese adults (79.6% women). The variables under study were assessed by the instruments: 4EverFamily Questionnaire - Family Experience Assessment Scale, Family Environment Scale, Psychological Well-being Scale, Mental Health Continnum and Satisfaction with family relationships.
RESULTS
The results (SPSS v25) demonstrated adequate psychometric properties, sensitivity, reliability and internal consistency (α=.95) of the instrument under study. Exploratory Factor Analysis with Oblimin rotation, defining the extraction of factors with eigenvalue ≥1, led us to solution with 16 items and two factors that explain 57.3% of the variance and make sense from a theoretical point of view, merging in two dimensions the four conceptual pillars: Proximity (includes items from Intimacy and Cohesion) and Projection (includes items from Continuity and Transcendence).
The questionnaire presents good construct validity, its dimensions correlating positively with satisfaction with family relationships, with psychological well-being and with mental health.
CONCLUSIONS
The results allow us to proceed with the use of this instrument for research in the area of Family studies.