Assessing children's appraisals of security in the family system: the development of the Security in the Family System (SIFS) scales
Abstract
Background: Although delineating the processes by which children appraise the family as a source of security from their collective experiences in the family subsystem has assumed center stage in many conceptualizations of child development, the dearth of measures of child adaptation in the family system has hindered empirical advances. Therefore, this study introduced and tested the psychometric properties of the Security in the Family System (SIFS) scales, a new measure designed to assess children's appraisals of security in their family as a whole. Methods: The SIFS was administered to 853 10–15‐year‐old schoolchildren and readministered to a smaller subsample two weeks later. Additional data was gathered from children, caregivers and teachers using a variety of instruments tapping family instability, cohesion, and conflict; parenting warmth and psychological control; child externalizing and internalizing symptoms; parent–child and interparental insecurity; and children's reactions to conflict simulations. Results: Consistent with models of emotional security in the family, exploratory and confirmatory factor analyses yielded three reliable (i.e., good internal consistency, test–retest reliability) dimensions of family security: Preoccupation, Security, and Disengagement. Concurrent and prospective associations between the SIFS scales and measures of family functioning, children's psychological problems, and insecurity in specific family relationships supported the validity of the SIFS. Support for the discriminant validity of the SIFS was evidenced by its specific patterns of relations with children's psychological problems and ability to predict psychological problems after controlling for insecurity in specific family subsystems. Conclusions: Results indicate that the SIFS is a psychometrically sound tool capable of advancing family process models, and that family security is a viable construct whose factors parallel already‐identified patterns of children's security in other family relationships.
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Forman and Davies report good internal consistency, test-retest reliability, and discriminant validity for the three SIFS subscales.
“Forman and Davies (2005) report good internal consistency, test-retest reliability, and discriminant validity of the three subscales.”
From Prospective Relations between Family Conflict and Adolescent Maladjustment: Security in the Family System as a Mediating Process (2015) · cites this paper as Forman & Davies, 2005
Forman and Davies proposed that disengaged patterns involve emotional disengagement and downplaying family importance, and found this pattern linked to greater externalizing risk.
“On the other hand, Forman and Davies (2005) posited that disengaged patterns reflected emotional disengagement from social relations and a downplaying of the significance of the family, and found that this pattern was linked with increased risk for externalizing symptoms.”
From Prospective Relations between Family Conflict and Adolescent Maladjustment: Security in the Family System as a Mediating Process (2015) · cites this paper as Forman & Davies, 2005
Specific patterns of security/insecurity mediated relations with symptoms of specific disorders and problems.
“Consistent with Forman and Davies (2005) and with approaches to investigate patterns of emotional security in the family based on attachment theory, additional tests indicated that specific patterns of security/insecurity mediated relations with symptoms of specific disorders and problems.”
From Prospective Relations between Family Conflict and Adolescent Maladjustment: Security in the Family System as a Mediating Process (2015) · cites this paper as Forman and Davies (2005)
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“…consistent with attachment theory and research, the psychological significance of identifying specific patterns of emotional insecurity as potential mediators of adjustment is also emphasized, including secure, disengaged, and preoccupied patterns (Davies & Forman, 2002; Forman & Davies, 2005).”
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- Authors
- Forman, E. M., & Davies, P. T.
- Affiliations
- Drexel University (US)
- University of Rochester (US)
- Corresponding author
- Forman, Evan M.
- Venue
- Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry
- Publisher
- Wiley
- Published
- 2005-03-08
- Volume
- 46
- Issue
- 8
- Pages
- 900-916
- ISSN
- 0021-9630 (ISSN-L)
- 1469-7610
- OpenAlex
- W2126278224
- Cited by
- 80
- References
- 72
- Citations by year
- 2026: 4 · 2025: 2 · 2024: 4 · 2023: 3 · 2022: 8 · 2021: 3 · 2020: 6 · 2019: 7 · 2018: 5 · 2017: 1 · 2016: 4 · 2015: 8 · 2014: 4 · 2013: 3 · 2012: 4
- FWCI
- 2.70
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- closed
- Locations
- Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry (publishedVersion)
- PubMed (publishedVersion)
- Topics
- Social Sciences › Psychology › Clinical Psychology › Child and Adolescent Psychosocial and Emotional Development
- Social Sciences › Psychology › Social Psychology › Attachment and Relationship Dynamics
- Social Sciences › Demography › Family Dynamics and Relationships
- Keywords
- family security, scale development, psychometric properties, family functioning, family cohesion, family conflict, parental warmth, psychological control, emotional safety
- MeSH terms
- Adolescent, Attitude, Child, Psychology, Child, Conflict, Psychological, Family, Family Relations, Female, Humans, Male, Parent-Child Relations, Psychometrics, Surveys and Questionnaires, Regression Analysis, Parenting
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