The Family Adaptability and Cohesion Scale III in a Norwegian sample

Olson's Family Adaptability and Cohesion Scales (FACES III) and Beavers' Self-report Family Inventory (SFI) were administered to 177 young Norwegian adults. Three questions were raised: (1) do the two-factor structure and curvilinear hypothesis of Olson's model of family functioning find support cross-culturally; (2) does curvilinearity depend on whether families of origin or procreation are described; and (3) does the data analytic technique dictate the results. In 1985, in their manual, Olson and his associates proposed the use of Distance from Center (DFC) scores to test the curvilinear hypothesis, a procedure that presupposes orthogonality between the dimensions of Cohesion and Adaptability, which was not found in several other samples nor in the present study. Using DFC scores, the curvilinear hypothesis received moderate support only when families of origin were described. A polynomic regression analysis gave clear evidence, however, of a linear relationship between the FACES dimensions and SFI Health Scores for both families of origin and families of procreation. The findings suggest that respondents do not have an implicit bipolar model of cohesion and adaptability.