Family cohesion and adaptability in treatment and nontreatment groups

The major problem in this study was the examination of the differences in mothers' perceptions of family functioning along the dimensions of cohesion and adaptability between families in mental health treatment and families not in mental health treatment. The FACES tool developed by Olsen et al. (1978) measuring marital and family functioning was used. Olson proposed that family cohesion and adaptability is two major dimension of family functioning and that a balanced level of cohesion and adaptability are most functional to marriages and families. Two parts of Olsen's Circumflex Model were tested in this study. The two hypotheses derived from Olsen's model compared mothers' reports of family cohesion and family adaptability in a treatment and non-treatment group. The treatment and non-treatment groups were used for the purpose of differentiating between healthy and unhealthy families. Hypothesis I stated that there is a significant difference between mothers' reports of family cohesion in families in treatment and mothers' reports of family cohesion in families not in treatment. Hypothesis II stated that there is a significant difference between mothers' reports of family adaptability in families in treatment and mothers' reports of family adaptability in families not in treatment. The treatment group consisted of twenty-six families selected from the Family Resource and Counseling Unit at Copper Mountain Mental Health Center. Mothers were chosen to represent families. The average family monthly income for the treatment group was $!,664.00. A mother completed an average of thirteen years of education and fathers an average of twelve years. The non-treatment group consisted of twenty-five families selected from Salt Lake Count's Well Baby Clinics. Mothers were chosen to represent families. The average family monthly income for the non-treatment group was $1,251.00. Mothers completed an average of fourteen and a half years. Mothers in each group completed the FACES and a personal data form. Hypothesis I was supported statistically at the .001 level of significance. The treatment group scored as significantly less cohesive than the non-treatment group. The hypothesis was further supported by a multiple regression analysis that indicated that a set of five variables accounted for 61% of the variance in treatment group status, cohesion being the most influential variable. The other four variables were: wife's education, income, adaptability, and social desirability. Hypothesis II was not supported by a t-test measuring the differences in the adaptability scores of the two groups. However, a multiple regression analysis revealed that adaptability was an important variable differentiating treatment group status as part of a set of five co-variables.