2003 Volume 12 Issue 2 Pages 45-52
In family life cycles, the nurturing period is a time when families adjust to the changing needs and demands of the family, which is likely to make family ties stronger. However, they also face critical situation, which could be destructive to these ties. The purpose of this study is to construct a family function model for families nurturing infant, based on the Japanese version of the Family Dynamics Measure II (FDM II) and also considering for evaluating the results. The valid response to the questionaire were 454. Analysis of the Japanese FDM II scale turned out to be a highly reliable scale (Cronbach's α = .9158) . Results of the exploratory factor analysis indicated that the FDMII scale was composed of twelve factors (sub-scales) . Further analysis through the Structural Equation Model indicated that the function of the families during the nurturing period was strongly influenced by three key structural components, housekeeping, communication and rule of the families. In the future, this model can be used to compare and interpret functional characteristics of families with a member affected by a chronic ailment, families living in different geographical areas, and families consisting of different member structures, etc., that can be used to help provide family services.
