Measuring Family Strengths and Capabilities: Reliability and Validity of the Turkish Version of the Family Functioning Style Scale

The aim of the current study is to test the psychometric properties of the Turkish version of Family Functioning Style Scale (FFSS) - a 26-items scale originally developed by Dunst, Trivette and Deal to assess various kinds of family strengths and capabilities - by analysing its factor structure, and providing data regarding its reliability and validity. The sample was composed 386 participants between the ages of 18-76. The participants were university students, employees of public and private sector and their families; and members of the households in different neighbourhoods in Istanbul. The data were collected by the use of a socio-demographic information form and the Turkish version of FFSS. Family Structure Assessment Device (FSAD) was also used to investigate the criterion validity of FFSS. The principle component analysis conducted to determine the construct validity of FFSS was resulted in 3 factors, namely “Interactional Patterns and Family Values”, “Family Commitment”, and “Intrafamily Coping Strategies”. According to the reliability analysis, Cronbach alpha internal consistency was found to be .92, split-half reliability was found to be .92, and the correlations between individual items and the total score were between .50 and .79. With regard to criterion validity, a significant positive correlation was found between the total scores obtained from FFSS and FSAD. Based on the results of the current study, FFSS has been demonstrated as a psychometrically appropriate instrument to evaluate strengths and capabilities of the families in Turkish culture.