The couple version of FACES III: Validity and reliability

Two samples of Australian couples (340 and 1 iO) filled in the couple version of Family Adaptability and Cohesion Scales (FACES) III, the most recent questionnaire devised by Olson (1985) to measure two dimensions of family functioning (viz. cohesion and adaptability). While the items of FACES III were all useful in discriminating between families high and low on the two factors, the construct validity of the instrument was not supported by the results of the authors factor analyses. In addition, the correlation between the factors cohesion and adaptability was found to be higher than that reported by Olson and his colleagues. Based on the present study, however, the authors are able to provide some norm and reliability data for a 17-item version of the scale consisting of a ten-item cohesion factor and a seven-item change factor. The implications of these results for the conceptualization of dimensions of family functioning are discussed. Finally, the authors examined the effects of sex, social class, and number of years married on both the original factors, cohesion and adaptability, and the factor change, found in both samples from the present study. © 1990 Division of Family Psychology, APA.