Abstract
Within family stress theories, the way in which families communicate about their hardships and issues is crucial for the family’s stress management and functioning. In the current study, we sought to validate the Portuguese version of the Family Problem Solving Communication (FPSC) Index and examine its psychometric properties. Developed within the context of the resiliency model of family stress, adjustment and adaptation, the FPSC is a ten-item self-report measure that assesses the family communication patterns that are likely to play a role in the family’s coping with hardships and difficulties. The participants were 332 individuals between 18 and 76 years who completed the FPSC and self-report measures of family hardiness and family functioning. A confirmatory factor analysis supported the original FPSC bifactorial structure, indicating the presence of two dimensions, Affirmative Communication and Incendiary Communication. Correlations between the scale’s total score and its dimensions with the measures of family hardiness and family functioning attested to its convergent validity. Furthermore, the index demonstrated respectable to very good internal consistency and temporal stability. In conclusion, the Portuguese version of the FPSC is a valid and reliable instrument that can support the development of future empirical studies focused on family problem solving communication, especially with regard to family adaptation in different contexts of adversity.
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Acknowledgements
The authors would like to thank Hamilton McCubbin, Ph.D. for his review during the preparation of this manuscript.
Author Contributions
G.F. designed and executed the study, performed data analyses and wrote the paper. C.C. designed the study, assisted with the data analyses, and collaborated in the writing of the study. L.M. collaborated in the writing and editing of the final manuscript. A.P.R. designed the study and collaborated in the writing of the study.
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All procedures performed in studies involving human participants were in accordance with the ethical standards of the institutional and/or national research committee and with the 1964 Helsinki declaration and its later amendments or comparable ethical standards. Name of the university that provided IRB approval for this study: Faculty of Psychology and Education Sciences, University of Coimbra
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Informed consent was obtained from all individual participants included in the study. [However, participants were not asked to sign any declaration in accordance with the APA Ethical Principles of Psychologists and Code of Conduct (8.05 Dispensing with Informed Consent for Research)].
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Fonseca, G., Crespo, C., McCubbin, L.D. et al. Validation Study of the Portuguese Version of the Family Problem Solving Communication (FPSC) Index. J Child Fam Stud 27, 1088–1097 (2018). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10826-017-0974-3
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10826-017-0974-3