Resource Library

One of the best developed environmental measures is the Family Environment Scale (FES), a 90-item inventory with 10 subscales that assess interpersonal relationships, personal development goals, and organizational structure.. The scale is based on a three-dimensional conceptualization of families. Additionally, three separate forms of the FES are available that correspondingly measure different aspects of these dimensions. The Real Form (Form R) measures people’s perceptions of their actual family environments, the Ideal Form (Form I) rewords items to assess individuals’ perceptions of their ideal family environment, and the Expectations Form (Form E) instructs respondents to indicate what they expect a family environment will be like under, for example, anticipated family changes.