FAMILY PROCESS IN HEALTH RESEARCH - EXTENDING A FAMILY TYPOLOGY TO A NEW CULTURAL-CONTEXT

To describe family context in health research, the authors tested a ty pology of families developed in California with a sample of families i n Quebec, Canada. Family scales from the California study were submitt ed to focus groups, translated, and standardized on a sample of 209 pa rents. A panel of experts then revised the scales to make them relevan t to Quebec families and to health promotion. Data from the new and re vised scales were collected on 509 Quebec couples (1,018 spouses) and were clustered separately by gender, using K means. The procedure clas sified all respondents into family types that paralleled the original typology. Discriminant analyses indicated that family profile variable s significantly distinguished family types. Comparisons with family, s tress, and health variables further differentiated among the types and expanded their meaning. The study demonstrates a method for redefinin g and extending family data in health research with different cultural groups.