Emergent properties in personal family descriptions
Date
1983
Authors
Mahoney, Catherine E.
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Abstract
This 3-part study explored a phenomenological approach to family experience in order to determine whether a meaningful and useful factor structure would emerge from individual family descriptions. In Stage 1, personal descriptions of families were gathered (n=220) to form a family descriptor checklist. In Stage 2, factor analysis of these descriptions (n+158) produced a 4-factor solution with factors tentatively labelled Positive-Evaluative, Tension-Dynamic, Traditional-Conservative and Problem-Oriented. Stage 3 investigated the stability of the original solution over three sample populations (total n_443). All factors showed some degree of stability ranging from a highly stable Positive-Evaluative factor to the least stable Problem-Oriented factor. The meaningfulness of the results is discussed in relation to major dimensions in current family literature, to the semantic differential components and to the polar, hierarchical and dynamic features of descriptive relations in general. The overall usefulness of the findings is yet to be determined. Replication with larger sample size is necessary to refine and stabilize the factor solution. Investigation of specific hypotheses regarding the effects of particular sample characteristics as well as social perceptions of these characteristics can then be examined. The most important implications are for researchers attempting to describe the higher levels of the family systems hierarchy and for therapists in the clinical situation. Although the unit of analysis and level of reference may vary, the fundamental features of relations in general do not and they thus may be an important basis for developing more adequate ways to describe an assess family interaction.