April 8th, 2022 
Research and Assessment in Family Therapy
Chapter 17
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Importance of Research and Assessment
Vitally interlinked with family therapy
Most of the pioneers in family therapy employed research-based procedures to evaluate and work with families.
In the 21st century, family therapy has become even more redefined in its research and focus on real-life context
The assessment of families is becoming stronger.
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Five Important Reasons for Research
Knowledge – informs therapists about phenomena
Confirmation and verification – demonstrates the efficacy of techniques and procedures
Accountability – provides means to show their services are grounded in science
Practicality – pays off in the long run
Uniqueness – way of distinguishing itself from other fields
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Research Findings in Family Therapy
Findings from research on family therapy indicate in general that most individuals and families improve when they receive couple and family therapy.
Contributions by Szapocznik:
Development of brief strategic family therapy
Formulation of structural ecosystems therapy
Development of the Strategic Family Systems Rating
Creation of one-person family therapy
Efficacy of individual, psychodynamic, and child therapy versus family therapy
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Two Types of Family Therapy Research
Quantitative
Grew out of the scientific traditions of physics, chemistry, and biology
Numbers
Qualitative
Rooted in the traditions of anthropology and sociology
Words or other means
Participatory evaluation research
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Difficulties in Family Therapy Research
Complexity of relationships within families
Time commitment needed to study the effects of family therapy
Getting families to participate in research projects
Ethical and regulatory standards
National Research Act
Belmont Report
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Research Design
The way in which research is designed affects results
Five categories of research design:
Exploratory: qualitative design used to better define issues
Descriptive: describes specific variables
Developmental: studies change over time
Experimental: adhere to classic “hard science methodologies, such as using hypotheses and dependent/independent variables
Correlational: studies degree of association between variables
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Sampling
Probability Samples: drawn from a known population with the possibility of calculating the likelihood of each case being included in the sample
Simple random sampling: each person in a population has an equal chance of being selected
Systematic random assignment: first family selected at random, then every nth family is automatically included
Stratified sample: random samples are drawn from different strata or groups of a population
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Sampling
Nonprobability samples: used when representation of a whole population is less important than the information itself
Convenience: using easy-to-access families
Snowball: asking participating individuals to refer other individuals
Purposive: choosing participants because they are believed to be representative of the study population
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Instrumentation
Self-report instruments
External validity (i.e., generalizability)
Construct validity (i.e., measuring what they report to measure)
Direct observational assessment (i.e., use of coders, raters, or judges)
Inter-rater reliability (degree to which raters agree on what they observe)
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Procedure
How families are studied
Many different methods for study families
Not neutral, as they reflect the epistemology of the investigator
Evidence-based research
Akin to outcome research
The available research evidence bearing on whether and why a treatment works (McMillan & Schumacher, 2014)
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Theory and Statistics
Well-designed research is based on questions that have usually arisen from a theory
Most family therapy is based on general systems theory
Statistically reported research needs to be clinically relevant and readable to practitioners as well as scientists (Gay et al., 2012)
Normal distribution is important when reporting statistics
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Validity
“The extent to which a measuring instrument measures what it was intended to measure” (Miller, 1986, p. 58)
Three main measures of validity:
Content: how well a measure taps the full range of dimensions or meaning of some underlying construct
Criterion: how well a measurement predicts or correlates with external criteria
Construct: how well a measure correlates with measures of similar construct
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Reliability
The consistency or dependency of a measure
Perfect reliability is expressed as a correlational coefficient of 1.00, which is seldom achieved.
An instrument can be reliable or consistent without being valid or accurate. However, an instrument cannot be valid or accurate without being reliable or consistent.
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Importance of Assessing Families
Assessment procedure – any method used to measure characteristics of people, programs, or objects.
Assessment is a vital part of family therapy
Through assessment therapists gain information that helps them diagnose and respond systematically and appropriately to families
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Dimensions of Assessing Families
Mostly based on a systemic approach
Questions asked in family therapy are generally focused on transactions and relationships
Fishman (1988) suggested four aspects of assessment for family therapists:
Contemporary developmental pressures on the family
History
Structure
Process
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Methods Used in Assessing Families
Informal Methods of Assessment
Couples Creativity Assessment Task (C-C A T)
Family Assessment Form
Direct Observation
Formal Methods of Assessment
More than 1,000 instruments are available to family therapists to assess families and couples
Cover such diverse areas as intimacy, power, parenthood, and adjustment
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Common Formal Assessment Instruments
Caring Days Inventory
Family of Origin
Locke-Wallace Marital Adjustment Scale
Myers-Briggs Type Inventory
Beavers-Timberlawn Family Evaluation Scales
Family Adaptability and Cohesion Scale
McMaster Family Assessment Device
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