COMPARISON OF SCHIZOPHRENIC-PATIENTS FAMILIES AND NORMAL-FAMILIES IN CHINA, USING CHINESE VERSIONS OF FACES-II AND THE FAMILY ENVIRONMENT SCALES

The lack of measures that systematically evaluate the characteristics and functioning of Chinese families is hindering the development of ap propriate family interventions for schizophrenia in China. We assessed the reliability and validity of revised and adapted Chinese versions (CV) of the Family Adaptability and Cohesion Evaluation Scales (FACES- II-CV) and the Family Environment Scales (FES-CV) and administered the se instruments to 120 respondents from families with a schizophrenic m ember and 126 respondents from control families. The psychometric prop erties of the FACES-II-CV and of the FES-CV Cohesion, Conflict, Intell ectual-Cultural Orientation, and Active-Recreational Orientation scale s are satisfactory, so they are appropriate for use in China; the rema ining six FES-CV scales require further culturally appropriate revisio n. Compared to control families, families with schizophrenic patients in China have higher conflict, lower cohesion, poor adaptability, and are less likely to be involved in, intellectual and recreational activ ities. These differences remained significant after adjusting for fami ly and respondent characteristics.