Family environment scale
Encyclopedia
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. It can be used in several ways, in family counseling
and psychotherapy
, to teach program evaluators about family systems, and in program evaluation
.
dimension, the Personal Growth, and the System Maintenance. 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.
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.
Family
In human context, a family is a group of people affiliated by consanguinity, affinity, or co-residence. In most societies it is the principal institution for the socialization of children...
. It was developed to measure social
Social
The term social refers to a characteristic of living organisms...
and environmental
Social environment
The social environment of an individual, also called social context or milieu, is the culture that s/he was educated or lives in, and the people and institutions with whom the person interacts....
characteristics of all families. It can be used in several ways, in family counseling
Family therapy
Family therapy, also referred to as couple and family therapy, family systems therapy, and family counseling, is a branch of psychotherapy that works with families and couples in intimate relationships to nurture change and development. It tends to view change in terms of the systems of...
and psychotherapy
Psychotherapy
Psychotherapy is a general term referring to any form of therapeutic interaction or treatment contracted between a trained professional and a client or patient; family, couple or group...
, to teach program evaluators about family systems, and in program evaluation
Program evaluation
Project evaluation is a systematic method for collecting, analyzing, and using information to answer questions about projects, policies and programs, particularly about their effectiveness and efficiency...
.
Scale inventory
The scale is a 90-item inventory that has a 10 subscales measuring interpersonal RelationshipInterpersonal relationship
An interpersonal relationship is an association between two or more people that may range from fleeting to enduring. This association may be based on limerence, love, solidarity, regular business interactions, or some other type of social commitment. Interpersonal relationships are formed in the...
dimension, the Personal Growth, and the System Maintenance. 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.
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.