Toward the Assessment of Procedural and Distributive Justice in Resolving Family Disputes

• NCJ Number: 198547
• Journal: Social Justice Research Volume: 15 Issue: 4 Dated: December 2002 Pages: 311-371
• Author(s): Mark R. Fondacaro; Shelly L. Jackson; Jennifer Luescher
• Date Published: December 2002
• Length: 61 pages
• Publication Format: Article
• Publication Type: Report (Study/Research)
• Language: English
• Country: United States of America

Annotation

This article discusses the development of measures of family decision making.

Abstract

The study was guided by the assumption that basic values rooted in the legal system may be associated with personal expectations for fair treatment in a variety of microsocial contexts, such as the family. Satisfaction and/or violations of these and other expectations may be tied to family systems functioning along dimensions of conflict and cohesion. Family conflict and cohesion are particularly important determinants of individual functioning and psychosocial adaptation, particularly during adolescence. Participants in this study were 249 undergraduates at a Midwestern university. They were administered a questionnaire battery that included a demographic sheet, the Family Decision-Making Questionnaire (FDMQ), and the Family Environment Scale. In the initial phase of the research a Family Justice Inventory (FJI) was constructed on the basis of a comprehensive review of literature. Factor analysis revealed that the 13 Family Justice Inventory subscales could be reduced to 5 interpretable procedural justice factors (personal respect, status recognition, process control, correction, and trust) and 4 interpretable distributive justice factors (decision control, need, equality, and equity). Using procedural justice factor scores in regression analyses, personal respect, status recognition, correction, and trust each accounted for unique variance in family conflict and family cohesion. Using distributive justice factor scores in regression analyses, both decision control and need accounted for unique variance in family conflict and family cohesion. Using both procedural and distributive justice factor scores in regression analyses, personal respect, status recognition, and trust each accounted for unique variance in both family conflict and family cohesion. Equity also accounted for unique variance in family conflict but not family cohesion and the direction of the relationship was positive. More equity in resolving specific family disputes was associated with higher levels of general family conflict. 5 tables, 3 appendices, 44 references