Coding Marital and Family Interaction

Abstract

Despite the truth of Yogi Berra's redundant statement, the study of the family via direct observation is a relatively recent event. The foundations of research on the family were sociological in origin and often employed large-sample self-report questionnaires to uncover relations within the family, as well as between the family and other social institutions. In a rather sweeping judgment, Straus (1964) cast doubt on the validity of research based on self-report measures: "Because of the great importance to both the individual and the society of 'good families' all measurement techniques based on self-report are suspect" (p. 369). Researchers are attracted to self-report measures because they are inexpensive to administer and may appear to be more useful than prudent evaluation would suggest. Many self-report instruments simply do not provide a valid assessment of the family variable(s) of interest to family researchers (e.g., family power). However, some variables, such as marital and family satisfaction, appear to be reliably and validly measured by self-report variables, as are other perceptual variables (e.g., perceived social support received from family relationships).