The Family Unpredictability Scale: Reliability and Validity

We developed the Family Unpredictability Scale (FUS) to better understand the factors that underlie the presence and consequences of family dysfunction. Familial unpredictability is defined as a lack of consistency in family behaviors and regulatory systems. Family researchers and therapists generated and evaluated items, which were self administered by married parents who had children aged 2 to 18 (N = 314). Principal-components analysis yielded four subscales (discipline, nurturance, meals, and money; 22 items total) that were internally consistent; confirmatory factor analysis based on a separate subsample yielded an adequate preliminary representation of this factor structure. The FUS related significantly to known measures of family and individual functioning but not to social desirability. The present study provides preliminary reliability, construct validity, and concurrent validity far this new multidimensional, self report assessment of family unpredictability. Research and clinical implications are discussed. Key Words: dysfunction, family, inconsistency, unpredictability. One important yet overlooked aspect of family functioning is family unpredictability. Family unpredictability is defined as inconsistent family behavior patterns and regulatory systems. That is, family unpredictability occurs when members are unable or unwilling to consistently fulfill their familial responsibilities, such as providing nurturance (e.g., affection and sustenance). Family unpredictability also occurs when regulatory systems or mechanisms for maintaining expectations break down (e.g., rule violations go unpunished). Parents and other primary caretakers are thought to be key contributors to such family chaos or instability. The family unpredictability construct derives from attachment theory and learned helplessness theory. Attachment theory (Bowlby, 1969) postulates that infants are influenced by the (un)predictability of caregivers' responsiveness. Infants whose mothers inconsistently respond to their needs develop an insecure-anxious attachment style; they are less willing to explore their environment and are more difficult to soothe during stressful situations (Ainsworth, Blehar, Waters, & Wall, 1978). In contrast, consistent caregiving fosters secure attachment, which allows children to believe their behavior affects their environment (Lewis & Goldberg, 1969). Thus, a sense of environmental unpredictability or predictability is established at an early age. Learned helplessness is a chronic belief that external forces and persons determine one's destiny (Overmier & LoLordo, 1998), and it contributes to negative emotional and physical health consequences (Cohen, 1980). This belief develops when events are unpredictable and uncontrollable (as opposed to uncontrollable yet predictable; see Tiggeman & Winefield, 1987). Schultz (1976), for example, demonstrated that the predictability, but not necessarily the controllability, of having visitors predicted the well-being of nursing home residents. Family unpredictability relates to Constantine's (1986) Family Paradigms model. Unpredictability is most characteristic of "random" families, compared to "open," "synchronous," and "closed" family types. In random families, "parenting is often erratic and inconsistent in style, tending to be overly lax" (Constantine, p. 307). Random families prefer change. If a random family is more creative than chaotic, it is likely to be healthy, whereas random families that are more chaotic than creative are likely to be unhealthy. Unpredictability appears to be an important aspect of family functioning, as living in a chaotic family has been linked to poorer functioning among children. Gardner (1989) compared children with and without conduct problems (i.e., teachers and mothers had "persistent management difficulties" with them). Compared with mothers whose children did not have a conduct problem, mothers of conduct-problem children exhibited more inconsistent conflict management, such as insisting on a command and then not following through (Gardner). …