adaptive behavior

family assessment

circumplex model

factor structure

confirmatory factor

functional independence

Family process

The General Functioning 12‐item subscale ( GF 12) of The McMaster Family Assessment Device ( FAD ) has been validated as a single index measure to assess family functioning. This study reports on the reliability and validity of using only the six positive items from the General Functioning subscale ( GF 6+). Existing data from two Western Australian studies, the Raine Study ( RS ) and the Western Australian Child Health Survey ( WACHS ), was used to analyze the psychometric properties of the GF 6+ subscale. The results demonstrated that the GF 6+ subscale had virtually equivalent psychometric properties and was able to identify almost all of the same families who had healthy or unhealthy levels of functioning as the full GF 12 subscale. In consideration of the constraints faced by large‐scale population‐based surveys, the findings of this study support the use of a GF 6+ subscale from the FAD , as a quick and effective tool to assess the overall functioning of families.

Reliability and Validity of a Short Version of the General Functioning Subscale of the McMaster Family Assessment Device