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Pictorially displayed metaphors as an assessment instrument
Author(s) -
Fosson A.,
Quan M.
Publication year - 1986
Publication title -
journal of family therapy
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.52
H-Index - 45
eISSN - 1467-6427
pISSN - 0163-4445
DOI - 10.1046/j..1986.00702.x
Subject(s) - psychology , favourite , style (visual arts) , medical diagnosis , applied psychology , social psychology , medicine , art , visual arts , philosophy , theology , pathology
The accuracy of a novel assessment instrument compared with conjoint family interview derived diagnoses is reported. The assessment instrument consisted of seven illustrations containing disguised depictions of family organizational styles and two distractors. When forty‐seven families were requested to select by agreement a favourite among the nine illustrations, twenty‐seven chose a pattern concordant with a family therapist's formulation of the family's organizational style (χ 2 = 16.91, P <0.001). These findings support the feasibility of developing a similar instrument for use in clinical practice. Comments address the rationale of the instrument, the study, and possible implications of the findings.