Translatability of family concepts into the Japanese culture: using the Family Environment Scale

Abstract

Family concepts and their measurements interest many family researchers. There is a question about the extent to which family concepts are universal or influenced by the culture in which the instrument originated. Using the Family Environment Scale (FES), the authors examine the translatability of family concepts into the Japanese culture. Forward- and back-translation processes and cross-cultural assessment of reliability and validity are discussed. We suggest that there may be different degrees of translatability for each of the family concepts used in the FES and that evaluation of families in different societies necessitates culturally appropriate constructs and instruments. The discussion is built around Japanese data, which are compared to the American results.