Self Expressiveness in the Family Questionnaire (SEFQ-40)

Description

The Self Expressiveness in the Family Questionnaire (SEFQ-40) is a self-report instrument designed to assess the way individuals express emotions within the family context. It was developed by A. G. Halberstadt, J. Cassidy, C. A. Stifter, R. D. Parke, and N. A. Fox, while the source material also refers to a Greek adaptation by G. Tsitsas, A. Antonopoulou, and A. Voutyra.

The questionnaire focuses on emotional expressiveness as an important aspect of family functioning and communication, examining how family members perceive the frequency with which they express different types of emotions in everyday family interactions.

Purpose

The primary purpose of the SEFQ-40 is to measure the expression of emotions within the family environment.

The instrument allows researchers to explore the degree to which individuals believe they express a variety of emotional reactions within the family and may contribute to a better understanding of the emotional climate and communication patterns that characterize family relationships.

Structure

The SEFQ-40 consists of 40 self-report statements. Participants indicate the extent to which they believe they express each of the behaviors or emotions described in the questionnaire.

The instrument assesses two main dimensions of emotional expression:

Positive Emotional Expressiveness, referring to the expression of positive emotions within the family.

Negative Emotional Expressiveness, referring to the expression of negative emotions and emotional reactions within the family context.

Administration

Participants rate each of the 40 statements using a 9-point Likert scale, ranging from 1 = “Never” to 9 = “Almost always.”

The estimated completion time is approximately 15 minutes, making the questionnaire suitable for use in both research and applied assessment settings.

Scoring

The final form of the questionnaire includes 40 items assessing positive and negative emotional expressiveness. According to the source material, the final score is calculated using the mean of the responses.

Scores may also be examined in relation to the two main dimensions of positive and negative emotional expression, allowing for a more differentiated description of emotional expressiveness within the family.

Greek Adaptation and Sample

According to the source material, the adaptation and evaluation of the SEFQ-40 in Greece had reached an advanced stage, following a preliminary assessment involving a sample of 300 male and female university students.

The mean age of male students was 21.06 years (SD = 3.55), while the mean age of female students was 21.3 years (SD = 3.51).

Validity

The source material reports satisfactory face validity for the questionnaire. In addition, a statistically significant correlation of r = 0.52 was observed between participants’ self-evaluation of their emotional expressiveness and their questionnaire scores.

This finding provides support for the extent to which the questionnaire reflects participants’ perceived emotional expressiveness.

Reliability

The Greek version of the questionnaire was developed using the back-translation technique.

According to the source material, the original version demonstrated very high internal consistency, with Cronbach’s alpha exceeding 0.90.

Applications

The SEFQ-40 may be used in research examining family functioning, emotional communication, family relationships, and psychosocial adjustment.

Its distinction between positive and negative emotional expressiveness can contribute to a more detailed understanding of the emotional environment within the family and may support studies investigating associations with psychological well-being, parenting practices, and the quality of family relationships.

References

Halberstadt, A. G., Cassidy, J., Stifter, C. A., Parke, R. D., & Fox, N. A. (1995). Self-expressiveness within the family context: Psychometric support for a new measure. Psychological Assessment, 7(1), 93–103. https://doi.org/10.1037/1040-3590.7.1.93

Halberstadt, A. G. (1986). Family socialization of emotional expression and nonverbal communication styles and skills. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 51(4), 827–836.