VALIDATIONAL STUDIES ON TWO INSTRUMENTS THAT MEASURE THERAPISTS' LEVEL OF SYSTEMIC THINKING
Abstract
This researcher conducted validational studies on two instruments that purport to measure therapists' level of systemic thinking. These instruments are the Family Therapist Assessment Exercise (FTAE) by Breunlin, Schwartz, Krause and Selby (1983) and Family Concept Assessment (FCA) Task by Tucker and Pinsof (1982). Test-retest reliability on the FTAE was only fair. Basement effects were found on a few FTAE items. In exploring the item-dimension correlations, it became apparent that some items negatively correlated with the dimensions to which they had been assigned or correlated more highly with other dimensions. Clusters of items could be picked out which increased the internal reliability within each dimension although the Cronbach alphas remained only moderate. Discriminant validity was explored on both instruments. FTAE sum, FTAE Dimension 2, and FTAE Dimension 3 all showed discriminant validity with Dimension 3 exhibiting greater sensitivity than Dimension 2. FTAE Dimension 1 exhibited no discriminant validity and had poor internal reliability. Theoretical orientation, MFT training, and awareness of the instrument had no significant effect upon Dimension 1; therefore this dimension clearly needs to be reworked. Descriptive analyses on the demographic data revealed that the FTAE sum and dimension (exclusive of Dimension 1), indeed, measure constructs specific to marriage and family therapy, more specifically structural-strategic therapy. The FCA Task, however, did not perform as well as it has performed in a prior study (Tucker & Pinsof, 1984). Scale I which has shown some discriminant validity before did not exhibit any in this present study. The FCA Scales did not evidence themselves to measure constructs specific to marriage and family therapy, but neither did they discriminate between levels of expertise in individual therapy. Consequently, in spite of the numerous modifications that need to be made on the FTAE instrument, Dimension 2 and 3 on the FTAE are showing great promise in operationalizing constructs specific to our field.
Degree
Ph.D.
Subject Area
Social psychology
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