Culturally appropriate family assessment: analysis of the Family Assessment Device in a pediatric Chinese population
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Jyu-Lin Chen1, Christine Kennedy, Susan Kools
1University of California, San Francisco, Department of Family Health Care Nursing, 2 Koret Way, Box 0606, San Francisco, CA 94143, USA. jyu-lin.chen@nursing.ucsf.edu
Insights
This study adapted the Family Assessment Device (FAD) for Chinese children, revealing cultural differences in family functioning measurement. The Chinese FAD demonstrated a distinct factor structure and reliability compared to U.S. versions.
Area of Science:
- Psychology
- Cross-cultural psychology
- Family studies
Background:
- The Family Assessment Device (FAD) is a widely used tool for measuring family functioning.
- Cultural adaptations are crucial for accurate assessment in diverse populations.
- Previous research has not extensively examined the FAD's psychometric properties in Chinese pediatric populations.
Purpose of the Study:
- To adapt and validate the Family Assessment Device (FAD) for use with hospitalized children in Chinese populations.
- To investigate cultural variations in family functioning as measured by the FAD.
- To compare the psychometric properties of the Chinese FAD with its original U.S. version.
Main Methods:
- Confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) and exploratory factor analysis (EFA) were employed.
- The study included 313 hospitalized children and 29 healthy children from Hong Kong and Chinese Mainland.
- Reliability was assessed using Cronbach's alpha for various subscales.
Main Results:
- The Chinese FAD exhibited a different factor structure compared to U.S. studies, with eight factors explaining 30.34% of the variance.
- Cronbach's alpha values for hospitalized children ranged from 0.29 to 0.74, with similar scores in non-hospitalized families.
- Significant cultural variations were observed in the measurement of family functioning.
Conclusions:
- The Chinese adaptation of the FAD shows distinct psychometric properties, including factor structure and reliability, compared to U.S. norms.
- Cultural factors significantly influence the measurement of family functioning in Chinese children.
- The focus on a pediatric sample may impact the FAD's psychometric properties in this cultural context.
Abstract:
As part of a larger study, we investigated the adaptation of the Family Assessment Device (FAD) to a Chinese population of hospitalized children (N = 313) compared to a sample of families with healthy children (N = 29) in Hong Kong and Chinese Mainland. Confirmatory factor analysis and exploratory factor analysis (EFA) were performed to examine the FAD structure. The results supported the notion of cultural variations in measuring family functioning. Eight factors were found to explain 30.34% of the variance in family functioning. The Cronbach's alphas of families with hospitalized children ranged from 0.29 to 0.74. Similar reliability scores were found in nonhospitalized families. This study indicates that the Chinese FAD has a different factor structure, reliabilities, and mean scores in several subscales compared to U.S. studies. The psychometric properties of the Chinese FAD may be influenced by the fact that the sample was focused on children rather than adults.