Adaptation of the Turkish Family of Origin Scale and the Development of Parallel Short Forms

Abstract

ABSTRACT There is a growing body of research in counseling-related fields that investigates the influence of the family of origin experience as a determinant for family patterns. We examined the psychometric properties of the Family of Origin Scale (FOS) in a Turkish sample to establish its applicability as a research tool and proposed a two parallel short version of the FOS. We addressed these objectives in two different studies. The purpose of these studies was to examine the applicability, validity, and reliability of these two FOS in a Turkish samples. In the first study, because of the exploratory and confirmatory factor analyses conducted with two other sample groups of university students, it was found that the theoretically proposed factor structure of the FOS needed to be supported in the Turkish sample. A reliable and valid single-factor structure was obtained in the Turkish-adapted version. In the second study, two short forms, each with 20 items, were created and applied to two different sample groups of university students. Both forms, each measuring intimacy and autonomy, had a single-factor structure and showed a strong and significant correlation with each other and the 40-item FOS. The outcomes of the present investigation indicate a strong and statistically significant link between the shortened and comprehensive forms of the FOS contributing to the assessment in marital family therapy.