Protocol Analysis and Reliability Test of Family Image Method

Abstract

　　Protocol analysis and the reliability test were conducted to investigate the validity and reliability of Family Image Method. For the protocol analysis study, questions concerningt he family image (i.e regarding seal placement, shades of seals) were asked of the 10 subjects who completed the images. From this study, we found five important variables regarding the father, mother, and child seals: power image, vertical presentation of the seals, direction of the seals, force of bond, and distance between the seals. For the reliability study, test-retest reliability of seven variables (placement of parent seals and generation border variables were added to the above five) was investigated by a survey of 41 participants. The reliability study confirmed the test-retest reliability of the above seven variables. These findings confirm the usefulness of Family Image Method in group surveys. The possibilities of Family Image Method as a screening test of psychopathology were also discussed.