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Assessment of Family Functioning in Caucasian and Hispanic Americans: Reliability, Validity, and Factor Structure of the Family Assessment Device
Author(s) -
AARONS GREGORY A.,
MCDONALD ELIZABETH J.,
CONNELLY CYNTHIA D.,
NEWTON RAE R.
Publication year - 2007
Publication title -
family process
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.011
H-Index - 74
eISSN - 1545-5300
pISSN - 0014-7370
DOI - 10.1111/j.1545-5300.2007.00232.x
Subject(s) - confirmatory factor analysis , psychology , reliability (semiconductor) , exploratory factor analysis , clinical psychology , mental health , psychometrics , test validity , test (biology) , sample (material) , structural equation modeling , developmental psychology , psychiatry , statistics , paleontology , power (physics) , physics , mathematics , quantum mechanics , biology , chemistry , chromatography
The purpose of this study was to examine the factor structure, reliability, and validity of the Family Assessment Device (FAD) among a national sample of Caucasian and Hispanic American families receiving public sector mental health services. A confirmatory factor analysis conducted to test model fit yielded equivocal findings. With few exceptions, indices of model fit, reliability, and validity were poorer for Hispanic Americans compared with Caucasian Americans. Contrary to our expectation, an exploratory factor analysis did not result in a better fitting model of family functioning. Without stronger evidence supporting a reformulation of the FAD, we recommend against such a course of action. Findings highlight the need for additional research on the role of culture in measurement of family functioning.