A New Familism Scale for Use with Latino Populations

TLDR

The study aimed to create an attitudinal familism scale suitable for less acculturated Latino adults that captures all relevant aspects of the construct. An 18‑item scale, combining original and adapted items, was administered to 124 Latino adults. Exploratory factor analysis identified four factors—Familial Support, Interconnectedness, Honor, and Subjugation—explaining 51.23 % of variance, with strong internal consistency (α = .83) and validity evidence showing negative correlations between familism dimensions and acculturation or U.S.

Abstract

The goal of this study was to develop an attitudinal familism scale that can be used with relatively less acculturated Latinos and that assesses all relevant aspects of the construct. An 18-item scale composed of original items and adapted items from previous scales was tested on a sample of 124 Latino adults. An exploratory factor analysis revealed the following four factors, accounting for 51.23% of the total variance: Familial Support, Familial Interconnectedness, Familial Honor, and Subjugation of Self for Family. Cronbach’s alpha for the scale was found to be .83. Validity analyses revealed significant negative correlations between some aspects of familism and acculturation scores and indicators of exposure to the U.S. culture, confirming previous findings on the subject.