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EVALUATING FAMILY THERAPY: DIVERGENT METHODS, DIVERGENT FINDINGS
Author(s) -
Kolevzon Michael S.,
Green Robert G.,
Fortune Anne E.,
Vosler Nancy R.
Publication year - 1988
Publication title -
journal of marital and family therapy
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.868
H-Index - 68
eISSN - 1752-0606
pISSN - 0194-472X
DOI - 10.1111/j.1752-0606.1988.tb00747.x
Subject(s) - dyad , concordance , psychology , family therapy , competence (human resources) , family member , triangulation , social psychology , clinical psychology , developmental psychology , psychotherapist , medicine , mathematics , geometry , family medicine
This study reports on a triangulation strategy for assessing family interaction, involving family members, their therapist and coders independently viewing videotapes. Utilizing a standardized scale, the Beavers‐Timberlawn Model of Family Competence, the study found weak agreement between paired assessments within the family triad, and within the therapist‐coder dyad. In addition, more complex scaling techniques such as composite “family scores” or discrepancy scores between family member dyads added no predictive power. The findings suggest that a “limit of concordance” may exist when comparing varying raters' assessments of a given family, and that methodological and/or scaling strategies designed to maximize agreement may be both fruitless and diversionary.