COUPLE THERAPY IN MACAO: SOCIETY AND PROFESSIONALS’ PERCEPTION

ABSTRACT

BY DISCUSSING VARIOUS ASPECTS OF FAMILY FUNCTIONING, INCLUDING THE INTRICATE NATURE OF FAMILY FUNCTIONING, FAMILY DYNAMICS’ IMPACT ON ADOLESCENT GROWTH AND LIFELONG DEVELOPMENT, AND THE COVID-19’S EFFECTS ON FAMILY RELATIONSHIPS, IT REVEALS THE IMPORTANCE AND NECESSITY OF ASSESSMENT INSTRUMENTS IN THE FIELD OF FAMILY COUNSELLING. AND CONCERNING THE GAP BETWEEN FAMILY RESEARCH AND CLINICAL PRACTICE AS WELL AS THE ABSENCE OF A SINGULAR TOOL CAPABLE OF EVALUATING VARIOUS FAMILY FUNCTIONS COMPREHENSIVELY IN THE MACAO CONTEXT, THE STUDY INTRODUCED THE BASIC FAMILY RELATIONS INVENTORY (BFRI; OR ‘CUESTIONARIO DE EVALUACIÓN DE LAS RELACIONES FAMILIARES BÁSICAS’, CERFB), A SELF-REPORTED QUESTIONNAIRE BASED ON LINARES’ BASIC FAMILY RELATIONS THEORY. THIS VALUABLE TOOL CONSISTS OF 25 ITEMS, ASSESSING SIMULTANEOUSLY THE QUALITY OF FAMILY RELATIONSHIPS IN TWO BASIC DIMENSIONS—MARITAL AND PARENTAL FUNCTIONING.  THIS STUDY AIMED TO DEVELOP THE CHINESE VERSION OF THE BFRI AND INVESTIGATE ITS PSYCHOMETRIC PROPERTIES IN THE CONTEXT OF MACAO. BY EMPLOYING A QUANTITATIVE RESEARCH APPROACH, IT EVALUATED THE NORMAL DISTRIBUTION, EXPLORATORY FACTOR ANALYSIS AND RELIABILITY OF THE BFRI IN A NON-CLINICAL SNOWBALL AND CONVENIENCE SAMPLE OF 165 PARTICIPANTS WITH AT LEAST ONE BIOLOGICAL CHILD FROM 12 TO 18 YEARS OLD. IN THE EXPLORATORY FACTOR ANALYSIS, THE INITIAL FACTOR EXTRACTION RESULTED IN FOUR COMPONENTS, REFLECTING BOTH MARITAL AND PARENTAL ITEMS. THIS SUGGESTED POTENTIAL OVERLAP AND INTERCONNECTEDNESS BETWEEN THE MARITAL AND PARENTAL SUBSYSTEMS. SUBSEQUENT ANALYSIS IDENTIFIED A THREE-FACTOR SOLUTION, SEPARATING MARITAL, NEGATIVE PARENTAL, AND POSITIVE PARENTAL COMPONENTS. THIS ALIGNED WITH THE FACTOR STRUCTURE OF THE ORIGINAL SPANISH VERSION OF THE BFRI. A TWO-FACTOR SOLUTION WAS ALSO EXPLORED, REPLICATING FINDINGS FROM THE PREVIOUS ITALIAN AND PORTUGUESE VALIDATION OF THE BFRI DESPITE SOME INCONSISTENCIES IN ITEM ALIGNMENT. THE EFA RESULTS REVEALED THAT THE THREE-FACTOR STRUCTURE OF THE CHINESE VERSION OF THE BFRI WAS THE BEST FITTING MODEL FOR THE MACAO POPULATION. RELIABILITY ANALYSIS, ASSESSED THROUGH CRONBACH’S ALPHA, INDICATED SATISFACTORY INTERNAL CONSISTENCY OF THE SCALES. THE RESULTS OF THE ANALYSES DEMONSTRATE PROMISING PSYCHOMETRIC PROPERTIES, SUPPORTING THE TOOL’S EFFECTIVENESS IN ASSESSING MARITAL AND PARENTAL RELATIONSHIPS IN A MACAO POPULATION.  THE STUDY CONTRIBUTED TO THE DEVELOPMENT OF THE VALUABLE FAMILY ASSESSMENT INSTRUMENT. IT SUGGESTED THAT THE CHINESE VERSION OF THE BFRI COULD SERVE AS A USEFUL INSTRUMENT TO CONCURRENTLY ASSESS THE QUALITY OF MARITAL AND PARENTAL RELATIONSHIPS AND SYSTEMATICALLY COLLECT THE DATA OF FAMILY FUNCTIONING IN BOTH DIMENSIONS. IT’S ALSO BELIEVED THAT THIS INSTRUMENT COULD BENEFIT THE EVALUATION OF FAMILY DYNAMICS AND COMPREHENSION OF FAMILY RELATIONS NOT ONLY IN FAMILY RESEARCH STUDIES, BUT ALSO IN COUNSELLING INTERVENTION AND CLINICAL THERAPY, PREVENTING RISKS TO THE HEALTH OF CHILDREN AS WELL AS PROMOTING HEALTHY FAMILY CONTEXTS IN MACAO