Family Environment Scale
Measures the family environment across three dimensions: relationships, personal growth and system maintenance.
In one minute
How it works in 3 steps
- You respond: You mark statements about your family environment.
- The dimensions separate out: The relationship, growth and organisation dimensions are read separately.
- It is interpreted: The result is evaluated together with the family context.
Who it informs
When professional support helps
What does the FES measure?
The scale addresses a range of aspects together, from the emotional climate of the family and how conflict is managed to the room given to individual growth and the way home life is organised. In this way it makes visible both a family's strengths and the areas that are open to growth.
When family members respond separately, it also becomes possible to understand how the same environment is perceived from different points of view, which is often as informative as any single score.
How is it scored?
Statements are marked and distributed across the dimensions; each dimension gives a profile of how the family functions in that area. The interpretation is made together with the overall functioning of the family.
- Items
- 90
- Score range
- 0–90
- Administration
- Self / observer report
What do the score bands mean?
The ranges below are a general frame. No band makes a diagnosis on its own; a result only becomes meaningful when a clinical psychologist interprets it alongside your life story.
| Score | General interpretation |
|---|---|
| 0–35 | Low family functioning |
| 36–60 | Moderate functioning |
| 61–90 | Good family functioning |
Limitation: It is a self-report tool; it gives a sense of family functioning but a scale never makes a diagnosis on its own. It becomes more meaningful when the perspectives of different members are evaluated together.
Psychometrics and source
Original source: Moos, R.H. & Moos, B.S. (1994). FES.
How is this scale used at Mete Psikoloji?
At Mete Psikoloji, in family and couple work this scale can be used to understand how a family functions and to set the focus of the support process. Your scores are recorded and followed in your personal portal; clients seen online complete their scales there, and clients seen in person are followed in the same portal. Your clinical psychologist interprets the result together with you.
Related reading
Did your result give you pause?
A scale is only a starting point. By planning an assessment session with our clinical psychologists, you can consider your result alongside the context of your life.