A cross-cultural study of family functioning

The Family Assessment Device (FAD) was used to compare patterns of family functioning in two cultural settings, North America and Hungary. The sample size consisted of 95 nonclinical North American families and 58 nonclinical Hungarian families. No cross-cultural differences were found in the families' general functioning nor in their affective involvement or affective responsiveness as measured by the FAD. Hungarian families, however, perceived their functioning as significantly better than the North American families in problem-solving and in communication. North American families rated themselves significantly better than the Hungarians in setting family rules and boundaries and in meeting their family responsibilities. Results from this study suggest that cultural values can affect a family's functioning and that differences in areas of family functioning can be captured using the FAD. A discussion of broad societal values of the two cultures was used to interpret the contrasting patterns of family functioning.Cross-cultural studies serve many purposes. In general they provide knowledge about the different cultures under investigation. As such, they broaden and enrich our perspectives of ourselves and the world around us. More specifically they highlight similarities and differences across cultures, information that can be helpful in further refining our understanding of the impact of diverse and varying socio-political forces.A topic of particular interest to family therapists and researchers is family functioning in different cultural settings. In spite of continuing research in this area, few studies examine cross-cultural patterns of family interactions and even fewer do so with instruments specifically designed to assess family functioning.From a family perspective, particularly looking at pathology in family functioning, cross-cultural comparisons can be used to highlight areas of dysfunction common to families irrespective of the cultural context. From a cross-cultural perspective, family comparisons can be used to point out the cultural effects and emphases given to different dimensions of functioning within a common system (i.e., the family unit).Both conceptual and methodological problems have contributed to shortcomings in previous cross-cultural studies (Fabrega, 1974; Kleinman, 1987; Flaherty et al., 1988; Rogler, 1989). A basic criticism of such studies has been the assumption that meanings and values in one culture are equivalent to those in another.Another issue, which is particularly pertinent to our study, is the use of an instrument which is developed in one culture and administered in another cultural setting. A potential problem this raises is inferring cultural differences between groups when the translated and the original instruments are not actually comparable in meaning. In fact, one objective of the study was to see whether our own self-report measure of family functioning, the Family Assessment Device (FAD, Epstein et al., 1978, 1983), could be successfully used in another cultural setting.The following report is part of a larger research project, conducted in 1986–87, that compared depressed and nonclinical families across two cultures. The findings presented here are comparisons between nonclinical Hungarian and nonclinical North American families. In our earlier study differences in family interactions between clinically depressed and nonclinical families were evident in both cultural settings (Keitner et al., in press). It was not clear, however, if significant cross-cultural differences in family functioning would be found for the normal group of families and, if so, how these would differ from their ill counterparts. Inclusion of the normal families thus served two purposes, as controls in the larger study to test within cultural differences and as comparison groups in a separate analysis to test between cultural differences.A specific objective of this study was to contrast patterns of perceived family functioning in nonclinical Hungarian families and North American families. Another objective was to determine if the Family Assessment Device (FAD), a self-report measure of family functioning, could be successfully used in different cultural contexts. Hungary was chosen as an appropriate country of study for several reasons. It is at the crossroads of East and West, sharing enough similarities with western culture to validate comparisons, yet different enough in both its cultural and sociopolitical system that some differences could be expected to emerge. Because it is likely that the Hungarian social system is less familiar to readers than that of North American, the results are discussed with particular reference to Hungary.We would like to thank Drs. J. Furedi and T. Kurimay for help in translating the Family Assessment Device and Professors J. Szilard and Muszong-Kovacs for their support of this study. This work was supported in part by the Firan Foundation.     

Table talk: inviting students to share the feast

This account describes part of the first morning of the AFT accredited South Yorkshire Foundation Course in Family Therapy and Systemic Practice. The course committee members join together in a reflective conversation about the course. We share with the students our ‘kitchen table’ discussions, the history of our involvement, and how it has affected our lives. We aim to introduce social constructionist practice in which we present the context of the course and address the power relationships in the room by being transparent about our own experiences. We hope to create an atmosphere in which learning can flourish.     

Pathway to health: cluster-randomized trial to increase fruit and vegetable consumption among smokers in public housing.

OBJECTIVES: Examine the effectiveness of an intervention to increase fruits and vegetables (FV) consumption among smokers. DESIGN: Cluster-randomized trial of 20 public housing developments; 10 randomly assigned to an FV intervention and 10 to a smoking cessation intervention. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: Usual (past 7 days) and past 30 days change in daily FV intake at 8 weeks and 6 months postbaseline. RESULTS: Greater increases were seen in the FV group. At Week 8 and Month 6, the FV group had consumed 1.58 (p = .001) and 0.78 (p = .04), respectively, more daily FV servings in the past 7 days than the cessation group. At the same time points, the FV group had consumed 3.61 (p = .01) and 3.93 (p = .01), respectively, more FV servings in the past 30 days than the cessation group. Completing more motivational interviewing sessions (p = .02) and trying more recipes (p = .02) led to significantly greater increases at Month 6 among FV participants. CONCLUSIONS: Motivational interviewing counseling and lifestyle modification through trying out healthy recipes may be effective in helping a high-risk population increase their FV intake.     

Effectiveness of a primary care exercise referral intervention for changing physical self-perceptions over 9 months.

This study investigated the effectiveness of a 10-week primary care exercise referral intervention on the physical self-perceptions of 40-70 year olds. Participants (N=142) were assessed, randomized to an exercise or control group, and reassessed at 16 and 37 weeks. The Physical Self-Perception Profile (PSPP; K. R. Fox, 1990), fitness, physical activity, body mass index, body fat (skinfolds), and hip and waist circumference were assessed. A multivariate analysis of variance revealed significant Group X Time interactions, with the exercise group showing greater physical self-worth, physical condition, and physical health at 16 and 37 weeks. Changes in all PSPP scales at baseline and 37 weeks were related to changes in anthropometric measures and adherence to the 10-week exercise program but not to changes in submaximal fitness parameters.     

A UNIFIED THEORY OF QUOTATION

Abstract: This paper offers a theory of quotation by uniting two apparently disparate extant theories, Recanati's pragmatic theory and Washington's identity theory. Recanati draws a distinction between open and closed quotations, and contends that open quotations do not refer. Washington argues that closed quotations refer to various expression types, not just orthographic and/or phonetic types. By combining these views, this paper proposes a theory, according to which quotations, open or closed, may be tokens of semantico‐physical types (i.e., meaningful expressions), and while those types are mentioned (or referred to) by closed quotations, they are used in open quotations.     

Psychosocial mediation of fruit and vegetable consumption in the body and soul effectiveness trial.

In this study the authors examined psychosocial variables as mediators for fruit and vegetable (FV) intake in a clustered, randomized effectiveness trial conducted in African American churches. The study sample included 14 churches (8 intervention and 6 control) with 470 participants from the intervention churches and 285 participants from the control churches. The outcome of FV intake and the proposed mediators were measured at baseline and at 6-month follow-up. Structural equation modeling indicated that the intervention had direct effects on social support, self-efficacy, and autonomous motivation; these variables also had direct effects on FV intake. Applying the M. E. Sobel (1982) formula to test significant mediated effects, the authors confirmed that social support and self-efficacy were significant mediators but that autonomous motivation was not. Social support and self-efficacy partially mediated 20.9% of the total effect of the intervention on changes in FV intake. The results support the use of strategies to increase social support and self-efficacy in dietary intervention programs.     

Behavioral and Emotional Rating Scale: Two Studies of Convergent Validity

As the field of mental health services shifts its focus to early intervention, the need to develop valid and reliable measures of young children's behavioral functioning is clear. Traditional assessment instruments have focused on deficits, problems, and pathologies to the exclusion of strengths and competencies. However, assessing child strengths provides parents, direct service providers, and educators with a more holistic view of the child's functioning and an understanding of skills from which individualized treatment and education plans may be written. The Behavioral and Emotional Rating Scale (BERS; Epstein & Sharma, 1998) is a strength-based instrument designed to identify children's behavioral and emotional strengths. The psychometrics of the BERS has been demonstrated through several studies; however, the focus has mainly been on older age students. We sought to assess the convergent validity of the BERS with kindergarten children. The results of these two studies provide further support of the psychometric characteristics of the BERS and indicate its appropriateness with young children.     

Salience and temporal sequencing of time-related actions in boys with attention deficit/hyperactivity disorder.

Twenty-four 8- to 12-year-old boys with ADHD and 24 non-ADHD boys matched on age and IQ viewed an edited, nondialogue portion of a humorous television program to examine performance on a task requiring attention to and recall of temporal information. Participants were required to retell the story as closely as possible, to complete a picture-prompted sequencing task taken from the story, and to identify time-saving actions taken by the central character. Measures were also obtained of the number of prospective, retrospective, or present time-related references made and whether participants correctly identified the overarching time theme of the story. Significant group differences in favor of the comparison boys were evident in the total number of actions recalled and the number of events recalled in sequence. When controlling for poorer memory performance in boys with ADHD, however, there was no significant main effect of diagnostic group. A logistic regression analysis controlled for poorer memory performance indicated no significant differences between the number of boys with and without ADHD who correctly identified the overarching time theme of the story.