Objective: To validate a French version of the Family Assessment Device (FAD), a well-known self-report questionnaire assessing family functioning in clinical and research settings.
Methods: A French adaptation of the FAD was administered to 3 groups of subjects: a nonclinical group (n = 115), relatives of psychiatric patients (n = 102), and medical patients and their relatives (n = 106). Temporal stability was assessed by test-retest intraclass correlations. Internal consistency was measured by Cronbach alpha reliability coefficients. Discriminant validity was explored, comparing the scores of the 3 groups, using a covariance analysis (ANCOVA). The dimensional structure of the instrument was explored using a principal component analysis, with promax oblique rotation, on the entire sample.
Results: The French FAD showed good temporal stability and good discriminant validity across groups. Internal consistency was satisfactory only for the General Functioning (GF) subscale. Factor analysis yielded a 3-factor model. The GF subscale was highly correlated with all of the other subscales.
Conclusions: The French version of the FAD provides a valuable tool for assessing family functioning. However, our study failed to identify the theoretical structure of the FAD and suggests that the GF subscale could be used as a better overall indicator of family functioning.