Criterion-Related Validity of the Arabic Family Relation Test
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.35516/Hum.2026.8793Keywords:
Family Relation Test, Arabic, gender, age, behavioral problemsAbstract
Objective: The current study examined the Arabic Family Relation Test (AFRT) criterion-related validity with its six main first-order factors (i.e., Restrictiveness, Affection, Vulnerability, Acknowledgment, Justice, and Trust). The variables used as criteria were the differences in family relationships based on the father-child and the mother-child relationships, child’s gender, and age.
Method: The cluster random sampling technique was followed, as schools were the primary clusters. The study sample included 601 school students (47.6% males) from grades 5, 7, 9, and 11, aged between 10 and 17, selected from 10 public schools. Three instruments were used to collect the data: the Arabic Family Relation Test (AFRT), the Behavioral Problem Scale (BPS), and the Anxiety Scale (TAS).
Results: The study findings revealed very good criterion-related validity indicators of the AFRT. Statistically significant differences were found between fathers and mothers in Affection, Vulnerability, Justice, Acknowledgment, and Trust. In addition, statistically significant differences were found in Restrictiveness, Affection, and Vulnerability based on agender and grade interactions in the father-child relationships, and only age differences in some factors of the mother-child relationship. In addition, statistically significant correlations were reported between AFRT’s six factors and children’s internalizing and externalizing behavioral problems.
Conclusions: The study concluded that the AFRT has good criterion-related validity. It is an appropriate and promising family assessment tool for researchers and practitioners in various fields. The results were discussed in psychometric and environmental contexts. Furthermore, suggestions for implications and future research were provided.
Downloads
References
Ababna, M. & Alrafaee, S. (2020). Waqe almoshklat alsolokya lada talabat almarhalah althanwya fi mohafadat erbid men wejhat nadir alqaemeen alaa alamalya altarbawya [The reality of behavioural problems among secondary school students in Erbid governorate from the education perspectives]. IUG Journal of Educational and Psychology Sciences, 28(4), 517–545.
Abdel-Khalek, A. (2000). The Kuwait University anxiety scale: Psychometric properties. Psychological Reports, 87(2), 478–492.
Abdel-Khalek, A. & El-Yahfoufi, N. (2005). Wealth is associated with lower anxiety in a sample of Lebanese students. Psychological Reports, 96(2), 542–544.
Abubakar, A., Van de Vijver, F., Suryani, A., Handayani, P., & Pandia, W. (2015). Perceptions of parenting styles and their associations with mental health and life satisfaction among urban Indonesian adolescents. Journal of Child and Family Studies, 24, 2680–2692. doi: 10.1007/s10826-014-0070-x
Aladwan, Saida. & Alsaleem, Bashar. 2024. Anmāṭ al-tanshiʼah al-usarīyah wa-ʻalāqatuhā bi-taqdīr al-dhāt ladá al-ṭalabah al-Mawhūbīn fī al-Urdun [Patterns of family upbringing and their relationship to self-esteem among gifted students in Jordan]. Manarah, Educational and Psychological Sciences Series, 3(1), 63–97.
Alansari, A. (2006). Istikhdām al-abnāʼ Shabakāt al-tawāṣul al-ijtimāʻī wānʻkāshānʻlá anmāṭ al-Ḥiwār al-usarī (The use of social networking networks and their reflection on patterns of family dialogue). Journal of Arts, Literature, Humanities, and Social Science, 42, 270–299.
Aldhafri, S. (2011). Self-efficacy and physical self-concept as mediators of parenting influence on adolescents’ school and health wellbeing. Journal of Psychology in Africa, 21(4), 511–520. https://doi.org/10.1080/14330237.2011.10820491
Aldhafri, S. (2014). Altanshaa Alwalydya Fe Alosar Alomania: Aowladek Kaf Tonsheahum (Parenting Styles in Omani Families: Your Children, How Do You Raise Them?). Alnahda Press.
Alhadabi, A., Aldhafri, S., Alkharusi, H., Al-Harthy, I., Alrajhi, M., & AlBarashdi, H. (2019). Modeling parenting styles, moral intelligence, academic self-efficacy, and learning motivation among adolescents in grades 7–11. Asia Pacific Journal of Education, 39(1), 133–153. https://doi.org/10.1080/02188791.2019.1575795
Alkharusi, H., Aldhafri, S., Kazem, A., Alzubiadi, A., & Al-Bahrani, M. (2011). Development and validation of a short version of the parental authority questionnaire. Social Behavior and Personality: An International Journal, 39(9), 1193–1208.
Almamari, H., & Aldhafri, S. (2018). Altanbo be mostawayat alektaab men khelal anmaat altanshea alwaldya lada talabt alhalaqa althanya fe Saltanate Oman [Predicting depression levels through parenting styles among second cycle students in the Sultanate of Oman]. Journal of Research in Education 19(16), 84–59.
Alqashaan, H. (2016). Alelaqa bain anmaat almoaamelah alwalydya wa ber alabnaa le alwalydayn fi almogtama alkuwaiti: Dirasa maydanya [The relationship between parenting treatment styles and children’s honouring to their parents in Kuwait society: Empirical study]. College of Education Journal, 6(3), 136–189.
Artol, S., & Arwad, D. (2017). Anmāṭ al-Sulṭah al-wālidīyah wa-ʻalāqatuhā btwkyd al-dhāt ladá al-murāhiqīn fī minṭaqat al-Jalīl alʼʻlá-flsṭyn (Parenting styles relationships with self-affirmation among adolescents in Aljaleel Alalaa District-Palestine). Journal of Educational and Psychological Sciences, 1(1), 268-292.
Alsaidi, F., & Aldhafri, S. (2020). Athar Anmāṭ al-tanshiʼah al-wālidīyah fī al-taḥṣīl al-dirāsī: namūdhaj wsyṭy li-Athar al-ʻajz al-mutaʻallim ladá ṭalabat al-ṣaff al-ʻāshir bi-Muḥāfaẓat Shamāl al-Bāṭinah bi-Salṭanat ʻOmmān [The effect of parenting styles on academic achievement: The mediating role of learned helplessness among 10th-grade students in North Batinah Governorate in Sultanate of Oman]. Journal of Psychological and Educational Science, 21(3), 41–71.
Alsyabi, A., Aldhafri, S. & Alsiddiq, F. (2021). Anmaat altanshya alwaldya: Dirasa moqarna bain altalebat alomaniat wa altalbat asoedyat [Parenting Styles: A comparative study between Omani and Saudi female students]. Journal of Educational Sciences, 17(17), 73–95.
Alrajhi et al. (in progress). Development and validation of the Arabic Computerized Family Relation Test among school students. Paper sent for publication to the International Journal of Evaluation and Research in Education.
Barlett, J.E., Kotrlik, J.W., & Higgins, C.C. (2001). Organizational research: Determining appropriate sample size in survey research. Information Technology, Learning, and Performance Journal, 19(1), 43–50.
Baumrind, D. (1971). Current patterns of parental authority. Developmental Psychology, 7(1, 2), 1–103.
Buri, J.R. (1991). Parental authority questionnaire. Journal of Personality Assessment, 57(1), 110–119.
Burton, L.J., & Mazerolle, S.M. (2011). Survey instrument validity part I: Principles of survey instrument development and validation in athletic training education research. Athletic Training Education Journal, 6(1), 27–35. https://doi.org/10.4085/1947-380X-6.1.27
Delsing, M., Oud, J., & De Bruyn, E. (2005a). Assessment of bidirectional influences between family relationships and adolescent problem behavior. European Journal of Psychological Assessment, 21(4), 226–231. https://doi.org/10.1027/1015-5759.21.4.226
Delsing, M., Van Aken, M., Oud, J., De Bruyn, E., & Scholte, R. (2005b). Family loyalty and adolescent problem behavior: The validity of the family group effect. Journal of Research on Adolescence, 15(2), 127–150.
de Maat, D., Jansen, P., Prinzie, P., Keizer, R., Franken, I., & Lucassen, N. (2021). Examining longitudinal relations between mothers’ and fathers’ parenting stress, parenting behaviors, and adolescents’ behavior problems. Journal of Child and Family Studies, 30, 771–783. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10826-020-01885-0
Di Maggio, R., & Zappulla, C. (2014). Mothering, fathering, and Italian adolescents’ problem behaviors and life satisfaction: Dimensional and typological approach. Journal of Child and Family Studies, 23, 567–580. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10826-013-9721-6
Fitriana, E. (2011). Confirmatory factor analysis of the Bandung Family Relation Test: A simulation study comparing ML, DWLS and WLS estimation [Unpublished doctoral dissertation]. Radboud University Nijmegen.
Gharib, N., Yusuf, N. & Soliman, S. (2018). Al-ʻAlāqah bayna al-tanammur al-Mudarrisī ladá talāmīdh al-marḥalah al-iʻdādīyah wa-baʻḍ Khaṣāʼiṣ al-Shakhṣīyah wa-al-ʻalāqāt al-usarīya [The relationships between school bullying among middle school students and some of personality characteristics and family relations]. Journal of Scientific Research in Arts, 19(4), 257–286.
Griffin, M. (2005). The Bene-Anthony family relations test. Australian and New Zealand Journal of Family Therapy, 26(1), 43–45. https://doi.org/10.1002/j.1467-8438.2005.tb00635.x
Hair, J.F., Babin, B.J., Black, W.C. & Anderson, R.E. (2019). Multivariate Data Analysis (8th ed). Cengage Learning.
Hasanah, R., Fitriana, E., & Moeliono, M. (2020). Relasi ibu-anak dan kematangan emosi remaja yatim duafa (Mother-child relationship and emotional maturity of dhuafa orphans). Psympathic: Jurnal Ilmiah Psikologi, 7(1), 105–116. https://doi.org/10.15575/psy.v7i1.7301
Israel, G.D. (1992). Determining sample size. University of Florida Cooperative Extension Service, Institute of Food and Agriculture Sciences, EDIS, Florida. Retrieved from: https://www.psycholosphere.com/Determining%20sample%20size%20by%20Glen%20Israel.pdf
Kang, H., & Shih, K. (2018). “Actions speak louder than words”: Korean American emerging adults’ perceptions and meaning-making of their parents’ instrumental aspects of parenting. Journal of Family Issues, 39(3), 644–667. https://doi.org/10.1177/0192513X16676856
Lakens, D. (2013). Calculating and reporting effect sizes to facilitate cumulative science: a practical primer for t-tests and ANOVAs. Frontiers in Psychology, 4, Article, 863. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2013.00863
Luo, Y. Chen, F. Zhang, X. Zhang, Y. Zhang, Q. Li, Y. Zhou, Q. & Wang, Y. (2021). Profiles of maternal and paternal parenting styles in Chinese families: Relations to preschoolers’ psychological adjustment. Children and Youth Service Review, 121, Article 105787. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.childyouth.2020.105787
Mak, M., Yin, L., Li, M., Cheung, R., & Oon, P. (2020). The relation between parenting stress and child behavior problems: Negative parenting styles as mediator. Journal of Child and Family Studies, 29, 2993-3003.
Makenzie, C., Knox, J., Gekoski, W., Macaulay, H. (2004). An adaptation and extension of the attitudes toward seeking professional psychological help scale. Journal of Applied Social Psychology, 34(11), 2410-2435. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1559-1816.2004.tb01984.x
Moeliono, M., Fitriana, E., Toharudin, T., Bektiningsih, D., Nelwan, P., Polhaupessy, L. & Wezlen, K. (2018). Quick Reference Guide: Bandung Family Relation Test (BFRT). PT Mediabaca Mandari.
Oud, H., & Welzen, K. (1989). Handleiding Nijmeegse Gezinsrelatie Test: Kinderversie. Swets & Zeitlinger.
Pallant, J. (2010). SPSS Survival Manual (4th ed.). McGrow-Hill.
Parkin, A. (2001). The Bene‐Anthony Family Relations Test revisited: Directions in the assessment of children’s perceptions of family relations. British Journal of Medical Psychology, 74(3), 323–349. https://doi.org/10.1348/000711201161019
Skoczeń, I., & Cieciuch, J. (2012). Polish computerized short version of The Nijmegen Family Relation Test (NFRT). In Musial, D. & Rydz, E. (eds.). The Psychology of Human Development (pp. 61–78). KUL.
Skoczeń, I., Cieciuch, J., & Oud, J. (2015). Development and validation of the computerized family relations test for children. Frontiers in Psychology, 6, Article 1687. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2015.01687
Shoaby, E. (2011). Elaqat asaleeb almoamla alwaldya betkhad alabnaa le qararathm fi almarhala althanawya [The relationship between parenting styles and children’s decisions’ making in secondary school stage]. Qualitative Research Journal 19, 142–171.
Soliman, A., Abdel-Salam, A., & Ahmed, M. (2021). The reliability, validity, and normative scores of the bene-anthony family relations test for use with Arab children. Frontiers in Psychology, 12, Article 548493), 1-10. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2021.548493
Someya, T., Uehara, T., Kadowaki, M., Tang, S., & Takahashi, S. (2000). Effects of gender difference and birth order on perceived parenting styles, measured by the EMBU scale, in Japanese two‐sibling subjects. Psychiatry and Clinical Neurosciences, 54(1), 77–81. https://doi.org/10.1046/j.1440-1819.2000.00640.x
Steinberg, L., & Morris, A. (2001). Adolescent development. Annual Review of Psychology, 52(1), 83–110. https://doi.org/10.1146/annurev.psych.52.1.83
Strachan, A., Lund, M.E., & Garcia, J.A. (2010). Assessing children’s perceptions of family relationships: An interactive instrument for use in custody disputes. Journal of Child Custody, 7(3), 192–216. https://doi.org/10.1080/15379418.2010.512236
Tabachinck, B.G. & Fidell, L.S. (2014). Using Multivariate Statistics (6th Ed). Pearson Education Limited.
Toharudin, T., Welzen, K., Caraka, R., Fitriana, E. & Jaya, I. (2021). Testing measurement invariance across SES groups: Application in the Bandung family relation test. Journal of Mathematics and Computational Sciences, 11(4), 4314–4331. https://doi.org/10.28919/jmcs/5587
Uji, M., Sakamoto, A., Adachi, K., & Kitamura, T. (2014). The impact of authoritative, authoritarian, and permissive parenting styles on children’s later mental health in Japan: Focusing on parent and child gender. Journal of Child and Family Studies, 23, 293–302. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10826-013-9740-3
Winsler, A., Madigan, A., & Aquilino, S. (2005). Correspondence between maternal and paternal parenting styles in early childhood. Early Childhood Research Quarterly 20(1), 1–12. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ecresq.2005.01.007
Yusuf, N., & Dasoqi, R. (2019). Iḍṭirāb al-ʻAlāqāt al-usarīyah almnbʼh bālrfʻ al-ijtimāʻī ladá al-aṭfāl al-Muʻāqīn ʻaqliyan [Disturbances in family relationships predicting social leverage in mentally disabled children]. College of Arts Journal, 19, 173-201.
Zhu, Q., Cheong, Y., Wang, C., & Tong, J. (2023). The impact of maternal and paternal parenting styles and parental involvement on Chinese adolescents’ academic engagement and burnout. Current Psychology, 42, 2827-2840. https://doi.org/10.1007/s12144-021-01611-z
Downloads
Published
How to Cite
Issue
Section
License
Copyright (c) 2025 Dirasat: Human and Social Sciences
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License.
Accepted 2024-12-23
Published 2026-01-01
