Protocol - Family Control and Organization

Description

The System Maintenance protocol includes 18 self-administered, true/false questions from two subscales (Organization, Control) of the Family Environment Scale (FES), Fourth Edition. The respondent reviews each item and chooses whether each item is characteristic (True) or not characteristic (False) of their family. The FES Manual includes a Scoring Key for each true/false item. This protocol is appropriate for adults and children aged 11 and older.

Specific Instructions

The Family Environment Scale (FES) is a proprietary instrument. Each Family Environment subscale is a part of a complete FES assessment and is not sold separately. To administer a subscale requires a licensing agreement from Mind Garden, Inc. While the Social Environments Working Group recognizes that there are many definitions of family, the FES is intended for use among parents and children. Parents may include both biological and nonbiological (e.g., step- or adoptive) relationships.

Availability

Limited Availability

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Protocol

Summary of the Control and Organizational Subscales from the Family Environment Scale

The Systems Maintenance measure contains two subscales: Organization (nine questions) and Control (nine questions).

Items from the Organization subscale include whether activities are planned out, the importance of punctuality, and whether duties are clearly defined. Items from the Control subscale include the importance of rules, whether family members are ordered around, and whether family members each have an equal say in family matters.

The test booklets feature three types of forms. The Real Form items ask the respondent to describe his or her current family as he or she perceives it. Real Form items can also be used to describe a respondent’s past family environment (i.e., childhood environment).

The Ideal Form and Expectations Form allow people to describe the type of family they prefer or their expectations of what a family will be like. The Ideal Form and Expectations Form are typically used in therapeutic settings and are not generally considered for research purposes.

Scoring Instructions

Each True/False item is assigned a value of 0 or 1, based on the scoring key. Items are then combined within the two subscales (Organization and Control). To combine these subscales into a single Family Control and Organization score, the subscales can be summed or averaged. Higher scores reflect higher levels of Family Organization and Control.

The Social Environments Working Group recommends the use of the raw scores from the Real Form (or their standardized counterparts) that can be further averaged across family members for an overall measure of global family environment. The Family Environments Scale Manual contains directions for creating Family Incongruence scores based on differences in scores across family members, but these scores are primarily utilized in therapeutic settings and are generally not validated for research.

Personnel and Training Required

No specific training is needed if data are collected through a self-administered questionnaire.

Equipment Needs

These questions can be administered in a computerized or noncomputerized format (i.e., paper-and pencil instrument). Computer software is necessary to develop computer-assisted instruments. The interviewer will require a laptop computer or handheld computer to administer or to allow the respondent to self-administer a computer-assisted questionnaire.

Requirements

Requirement Category	Required
Major equipment	No
Specialized training	No
Specialized requirements for biospecimen collection	No
Average time of greater than 15 minutes in an unaffected individual	No

Mode of Administration

Self-administered questionnaire

Lifestage

Adolescent, Adult

Participants

Adolescents and adults, aged 11 years and older

Selection Rationale

The Family Environment Scale (FES), Fourth Edition, was selected because it is a widely used protocol with lots of current research on validity, reliability, and association with outcomes. Additionally, the FES Manual contains detailed data on transforming raw scores into standardized scores based on extensive normative data. Means are also given for various subpopulations (e.g., adults vs. adolescents, distressed vs. nondistressed families, single-parent families, Latino and African-American families). Because the FES assesses general characteristics of the family rather than behaviors in a specific time frame, this measure is appropriate both for assessments of current family environment and retrospective reports of family environment during childhood.

Language

Chinese, English, Other languages available at source

Standards

Standard	Name	ID	Source
Logical Observation Identifiers Names and Codes (LOINC)	Fam control org proto	63020-2	LOINC

Derived Variables

None

Process and Review

The Expert Review Panel #2 (ERP 2) reviewed the measures in the Demographics, Environmental Exposures, and Social Environments domains.

Guidance from ERP 2 includes:

• Revised descriptions of the measure

Back-compatible: no changes to Data Dictionary

Previous version in Toolkit archive (link)

Protocol Name from Source

Family Environment Scale (FES), 2009

Source

Moos, R., & Moos, B. (2009). Family Environment Scale Manual and Sampler Set: Development, Applications and Research (4th ed.). Palo Alto, CA: Mind Garden, Inc.

The Family Environment Scale (4th ed.) is a proprietary instrument and can be obtained through:

Mind Garden, Inc.
855 Oak Grove Ave., Suite 215
Menlo Park, CA 94025 USA
Telephone: 650.322.6300

General References

Moos, R. (1990). Conceptual and empirical approaches to developing family-based assessment procedures: Resolving the case of the Family Environment Scale. Family Process, 29, 199-208.

Moos, R., & Moos, B. (1994). Family Environment Scale Manual: Development, applications, research (3rd ed.). Palo Alto, CA: Consulting Psychologists Press.

Protocol ID

210501

Variables

Export Variables

Variable Name	Variable ID	Variable Description	dbGaP Mapping

	PX210501000000	Protocol 210501 - proprietary. Check DCW for more contact. show less	N/A

Social Environments

Measure Name

Family Control and Organization

Release Date

October 8, 2010

Definition

This measure is a questionnaire that assesses organization and structure in planning family activities and responsibilities.

Purpose

This measure provides researchers a way of examining the respondent’s perception on the importance of organization and control based on family activities and responsibilities and on how much set rules and procedures are used to run family life.

Keywords

Social environments, Family Environment Scale, FES, family, control, rules, environment, organization, proprietary

Measure Protocols

Protocol ID	Protocol Name
210501	Family Control and Organization

Publications

There are no publications listed for this protocol.