Related Experiment Video
Updated: Sep 30, 2025

Assessing the Coherence of Parents' Short Narratives Regarding their Child Using the Five-Minute Speech Sample Procedure
Published on: September 19, 2019
Is Family Functioning Stable and Consistent over Time and Stakeholders? A Comparison of Adolescents' and Caregivers'
Natallia Sianko1, James R McDonell2
1Department of Sociology, Anthropology & Criminal Justice, Clemson University, Clemson, SC 29634, United States.
Abstract:
Family functioning is a key construct in research and practice involving children and youth. Given that multi-informant assessment of this construct is considered a best practice in research and clinical settings, ensuring measurement invariance of family functioning instruments is an important consideration for family science scholars and practitioners who increasingly use multiple groups or longitudinal designs in investigating family dynamics. Yet, studies involving family functioning provide limited reports of psychometric properties of key or contextual measures. This study used multigroup confirmatory factor analyses to examine measurement invariance of a short version of the McMaster Family Assessment device using data from caregivers (N = 479) and adolescents (N = 571) collected at two periods four years apart. Results revealed that configural and metric invariance of a short version of the family functioning measure hold both across groups (caregivers and adolescents) and time, thus providing the foundation for using this instrument to assess family functioning with different populations and at different time periods. However, evidence of only partial scalar invariance indicated that group comparisons might be biased. The article concludes with implications for family science scholars and practitioners, including caution in using mean scores to compare perceptions of family functioning across different populations, such as caregivers and adolescents.
Related Concept Videos
Influence of Parents and Peers on Identity
Parental Influence on Identity Development
Parents serve as primary guides and managers in an adolescent's life, offering support instrumental in decision-making and personal growth....
Self-Evaluation: Self-Enhancement and Self-Verification
Sources of Self-Esteem I: Family Experience
Parenting Styles
Authoritarian Parenting
This style is strict and controlling, with little room for open dialogue. Authoritarian parents demand obedience and often enforce rules with minimal warmth. Children raised this way may lack social skills and initiative, usually comparing themselves to others unfavorably.
Authoritative...
Theory of Romantic Attachment in Adulthood
Erikson's Theory on Socioemotional Development during Adolescence

