Traditional Family Ideology Scale – TFI
Measures an individual's adherence to traditional, autocratic, and authoritarian family structures versus democratic and egalitarian family ideologies.
Scale Development & Technical Details
Scale Overview
The Traditional Family Ideology Scale – TFI was developed by Daniel J. Levinson and Phyllis E. Huffman (1955). It is designed to measure Traditional Family Ideology. The scale is intended for use with Adults.
Scale Structure
This instrument consists of 40 items organized into 4 factors/subscales: Parent-child relationships: child-rearing techniques, Husband and wife roles and relationships, General male-female relationships; concepts of masculinity and femininity, General values and aims.
| Factor / Subscale | Items | N |
|---|---|---|
| Parent-child relationships: child-rearing techniques | 3,7,11,15,16,19,23,27,28,31,35,36,38,39,40 | 15 |
| Husband and wife roles and relationships | 4,5,6,10,14,20,21,24,25,29,30 | 11 |
| General male-female relationships; concepts of masculinity and femininity | 1,2,8,9,12,13,17,18,22,26,32,33,34 | 13 |
| General values and aims | 37 | 1 |
Response Format
Respondents rate each item using a custom response format.
Response anchors: -3 = Strong disagreement, -2 = Moderate disagreement, -1 = Slight disagreement, 0 = Neutral / Undecided, 1 = Slight agreement, 2 = Moderate agreement, 3 = Strong agreement.
The scale includes 6 reverse-scored items to reduce acquiescence bias.
Scoring
Items are summed to produce a total score.
Total scores range from 40 to 280. Interpretation guidelines:
- Low Traditionalism (Democratic/Egalitarian): 40 – 120
- Moderate Traditionalism: 121 – 200
- High Traditionalism (Authoritarian/Traditional): 201 – 280
Psychometric Properties
Internal Consistency: The scale has demonstrated good to excellent internal consistency with reported Cronbach’s alpha values of 0.84.
Administration
The scale is self-administered and typically takes approximately 15 minutes to complete. It can be administered individually or in group settings. No special training is required for administration.