Assessment of the Family Context in Adolescence: A Systematic Review

Abstract

Background: Bearing in mind that the characteristics of the family system have a significant influence on the positive development of adolescents and considering that there are different measuring instruments, the main objective of this work is to review studies on the instruments for evaluating the family context, to determine which instruments are validated or adapted by researchers between 2010 and 2020 and which variables in the family context are valued during the adolescent stage. Methods: The academic search engines consulted have been Scopus, Redalyc and Web of Science. Following the criteria contemplated in the PRISMA Declaration, once duplicates were eliminated, a total of 101 studies were identified. A critical reading of the titles, summaries and a large part of the complete articles was carried out, and 56 studies were excluded. Finally, a systematic review of 45 studies that contrasted the psychometric properties of self-report measures (questionnaires, inventories, scales), between original papers and adaptations was carried out. Results: The results obtained reveal that the instruments measure different aspects of the family system: the family dynamics (variables such as parental competence, resilience, social support, parenting style and practices of leisure and free time); family functioning (variables such as problem solving, communication, roles, affective response capacity, affective participation, behavior control, cohesion, adaptability and family satisfaction); family adjustment (variables referring to parental stress, parental conflict, family health and family protection; and the parent–child relationships (variables such as quality, family effectiveness, family atmosphere and attachment). Conclusions: The most used psychological tests are: Parental Bonding Instrument, Family Assessment Resources, Social Support Scale, Parental Stress Index and Scale of Adaptation, Participation, Gain, Affection and Resources. Parental Bonding Instrument shows excellent psychometric properties. The rest of the self-report measures present acceptable reliability indices. The psychometric properties of some Family Assessment Resources, Social Systems Assessment Scale and Protective Factors Survey scales are more questionable, so new validation studies of these instruments are required. Affect (quality of relationships, manifestation, attachment bond), communication between members of the family group and parental control (behavioral and psychological) have been the main dimensions of the family context studied in adolescence. Along with these variables, others have been incorporated, such as parental resilience, family leisure and free time routines, family health or family strengths and weaknesses. The related instruments used in different psychological and cultural environments may help us to better understand the educational and parenting practices based on family dynamics, functioning, adjustment and parent–child relationships.