Family Environment
Title
Family Environment Scale (FES5)
Study
PCS3
Copyright Information
Copyrighted. Available for purchase through Mind Garden, Inc.
Primary References
Moos, R. H., & Moos, B. S. (1994). Family environment scale manual. Consulting Psychologists Press.
Moos, R. H. (1990). Conceptual and empirical approaches to developing family-based assessment procedures: Resolving the case of the Family Environment Scale. Family Process, 29, 199-208.
Purpose
To assess interpersonal and functional components of participants' family environments during childhood and adolescence.
Description
Using a 5-point Likert scale, participants indicate the extent to which they agree with statements describing their family dynamic during childhood. Participants are asked to respond in reference to “When I was growing up.”
Scaling
1 = Strongly Disagree, 2 = Disagree, 3 = Neutral, 4 = Agree, 5 = Strongly Agree
Number of Items
25
Psychometrics
See Moos (1990) for data on the construct validity, internal reliability and temporal stability of the FES.
Scoring/Variables
Two scales comprise the FES: family relationships and family system maintenance. A total score is computed for each scale by summing their component items, and subscores are computed by summing the component items for each of their component subscales. Items for this scale appear in the dataset as fes1 - fes25. See below for which items make up each individual subscale. Note that [R] indicates that the item was reversed scored prior to summing.
Total Family Relationships (15 items)
- Cohesion (5 items): fes1, fes7, fes16[R], fes19, fes22
- Expressiveness (5 items): fes6[R], fes8, fes14[R], fes17, fes23
- Conflict (5 items): fes2, fes3[R], fes9[R], fes12, fes20
Total Family System Maintenance Score (10 items)
- Organization (5 items): fes4, fes10, fes15, fes18, fes24
- Control Score (5 items): fes5[R], fes11, fes13, fes21, fes25
Additional details regarding this measure can be obtained by consulting Moos & Moos (1994).
Additional References
Bloom, B. L. (1985). A factor analysis of self-report measures of family functioning. Family Process, 24, 225-239.