Despite the importance of emotional closeness (EC) in families, few researchers have accurately measured the construct in a systemic way. Additionally, existing measures rely on ratings from one informant, typically the mother, to provide information on closeness within the entire family system. We examined EC in 140 individuals (37 families) using the Emotional Tone Index for Families (ETIF), a novel, multi-informant measure that obtains bidirectional information about EC within every family relationship. The parent identified as most familiar with the family also completed two widely used single-informant measures: The McMaster Family Assessment Device and the Family Adaptability and Cohesion Evaluation Scales, version IV. The ETIF exhibited good test–retest reliability, high internal consistency, and concurrent validity with the single-informant measures. Though the primary respondent scores correlated highly with overall family closeness, results revealed only a modest association between closeness ratings within each dyad and parents rated higher levels of closeness toward their children than children rated closeness toward parents. These findings suggest that ratings from multiple informants provide valuable information about discrepancies in perceived closeness between family members and other complex family dynamics that cannot be captured by single-informant measures. Limitations, future directions, and implications for practice are discussed.

中文翻译：

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家庭情绪指数（ETIF）的验证：情绪亲密度的多信息测量

尽管情感亲密度 (EC) 在家庭中很重要，但很少有研究人员以系统的方式准确地测量了这种结构。此外，现有的措施依赖于一名线人（通常是母亲）的评级，以提供有关整个家庭系统内亲密度的信息。我们使用家庭情绪指数 (ETIF) 检查了 140 个人（37 个家庭）的 EC，这是一种新颖的多信息量度，可在每个家庭关系中获取有关 EC 的双向信息。被确定为最熟悉家庭的父母还完成了两项广泛使用的单一信息测量：麦克马斯特家庭评估设备和家庭适应性和凝聚力评估量表，第四版。ETIF 表现出良好的重测信度、高内部一致性、和单一信息测量的同时效度。虽然主要受访者的分数与整体家庭亲密度高度相关，但结果显示，每个二元组内的亲密度评分之间只有适度的关联，而父母对孩子的亲密度高于孩子对父母的亲密度。这些研究结果表明，来自多个线人的评级提供了有关家庭成员之间感知亲密度和其他复杂家庭动态的差异的有价值信息，而这些信息无法通过单一线人测量来捕捉。讨论了局限性、未来方向和对实践的影响。结果显示，每个二元组内的亲密度评级之间只有适度的关联，而父母对孩子的亲近程度高于孩子对父母的亲近程度。这些研究结果表明，来自多个线人的评级提供了有关家庭成员之间感知亲密度和其他复杂家庭动态的差异的有价值信息，而这些信息无法通过单一线人测量来捕捉。讨论了局限性、未来方向和对实践的影响。结果显示，每个二元组内的亲密度评级之间只有适度的关联，而父母对孩子的亲近程度高于孩子对父母的亲近程度。这些发现表明，来自多个线人的评级提供了有关家庭成员之间感知亲密度和其他复杂家庭动态之间差异的有价值信息，而这些信息无法通过单一线人测量来捕捉。讨论了局限性、未来方向和对实践的影响。这些研究结果表明，来自多个线人的评级提供了有关家庭成员之间感知亲密度和其他复杂家庭动态的差异的有价值信息，而这些信息无法通过单一线人测量来捕捉。讨论了局限性、未来方向和对实践的影响。这些研究结果表明，来自多个线人的评级提供了有关家庭成员之间感知亲密度和其他复杂家庭动态的差异的有价值信息，而这些信息无法通过单一线人测量来捕捉。讨论了局限性、未来方向和对实践的影响。