Scales for assessing family intervention during psychiatric hospitalization

Because ample evidence from both clinical and research realms has demonstrated that family intervention can be crucial for the process and outcome of psychiatric hospital treatment, greater attention should be given to assessing the extent and content of such interventions. The authors present their rating system for assessing the focus of family interventions during psychiatric hospitalization; they also provide results of a study of the interrater reliability of the scales and a factor analysis of the scales. These Family Intervention Scales are designed for application in hospitals that vary widely in structure, setting, staffing patterns, and program emphasis. The factor analysis yields four factors that make good clinical and conceptual sense: Information-Education, Family System Approach, Family Therapeutic Alliance, and Spouse Involvement.