Family System and Family Functioning: Circumplex Model and FACES IV

This study investigated the interrelationships between students’ perceptions of their family of origin systems and their reports of family quality and stress in a sample of 118 Australian first-year students taking Psychology at the University of Sydney. The main measure adopted in this study was a new instrument (FACES IV) developed by Judith Tiesel and David Olson (1997) and applied by them to assess dimensions and predictions associated with Olson’s Circumplex Model of Family Systems. In the present study, families classified as generally extreme or unbalanced in their type of family system were found to be significantly lower in family quality and higher in family stress than families classified as balanced. More specifically, multiple regression analyses indicated that family quality was best predicted by family disengagement and family rigidity, and family stress by family chaos. The linear relationships found in this Australian study are consistent with the findings reported in a recent study using FACES IV with a North American sample (Tiesel & Olson, 1997).