Portuguese validation of FACES-IV in adult children caregivers facing parental cancer

The purpose of the present study was to examine the psychometric properties
of the FACES-IV in Portuguese caregivers of cancer patients. In this cross-sectional study,
a sample of 214 adult children caregivers of cancer patients receiving chemotherapy,
completed FACES-IV, Family Communication Scale (FCS), Family Satisfaction Scale
(FSS), and Satisfaction with Social Support Scale (SSSS). Internal consistencies above .70
were found for all FACES-IV scales, except for Enmeshed and Rigid scales, as well as for
the FCS, FSS, and SSSS (except for Intimacy). Strong correlations between FACES-IV
and the validation scales FCS and FSS were found except for the Enmeshed and Rigid
scales. Confirmatory analysis yielded an acceptable model for the six theoretical subscales.
The discriminant analysis between problematic and non-problematic family systems
showed results similar to the original study. These findings suggest that FACES-IV is a
valid measure of family functioning in oncological family caregiving’s contexts.
Acknowledgments This study was funded by a grant from the Portuguese Foundation for Science and
Technology (reference SFRH/BD/43275/2008).