Family process: A systems assessment

The focus of the study was the development of a valid and reliable scale designed to differentiate patterns of interaction between members in one family system and members in a different family system. Theoretical concepts for the scale emerged from a six-dimensional social field from Kanto and Lehr (1975). Subjects for this study consisted of 25 clinical and nonclinical husband-wife-adolescent child family units from the north Texas area. Non-clinical families were selected by a 4-H agent in Cooke County who identified families who had never received counseling for a family problem. Clinical families were obtained from a youth service organization and a state supported institution. Results from the investigation indicate that one is able to differentiate between members of one family and members of another.