Family Functioning Assessment in a Community Sample of African American Caregivers and Children

• Published in: Contemporary family therapy 2022-09, Vol.44 (3), p.244-249
• Main Authors: Van Fossen, Catherine, Pratt, Keeley J., Eneli, Ihuoma
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: African Americans; Behavioral Science and Psychology; Caregivers; Children; Clinical Psychology; Confirmatory factor analysis; Ethnic groups; Evaluation; Families & family life; Family; Family relations; Health behavior; Health services; Mental health services; Minority & ethnic groups; Minority groups; Original Paper; Peers; Psychology; Psychotherapy; Quantitative psychology; Reliability; Social Work; Sociology
• ISSN: 0892-2764; 1573-3335
• DOI: 10.1007/s10591-021-09604-7

Racial/ethnic minority youth receive approximately half of the mental health services of their non-minority peers. Improved methods for identifying African American families in need of behavioral health services are necessary. The Family Assessment Device and General Functioning subscale have been found to be reliable and able to detect family functioning impairment in a generalized sample, but less is known about the reliability and validity of the assessment with an African American community sample. Data from 53 African American caregiver-child (ages 7–13) dyads was collected including family demographics and the Family Assessment Device General Functioning (FAD_GF) scale. Confirmatory factor analysis was conducted to determine the minimal number of FAD_GF items (12 vs. 6 items) that were valid and reliable. The 12-item FAD_GF and the 6-item scale had acceptable psychometric properties, and the 6-item measure demonstrated improved model fit over the 12-item scale and identified more clinically impaired families (6-item: 28% vs. 12-item: 23%). The 6-item measure of family functioning was more sensitive 12-item FAD_GF. This brief measure may prove useful for identifying and assessing African American families.