The Family Semantic Questionnaire (FSQ): An instrument for a hermeneutic-relational evaluation of personality and psychopathology

Some cognitive (Kelly, 1955; Guidano, 1987), systemic (Ugazio, 1998) and psychodynamic (Luborsky & Crits-Christoph, 1990; Benjamin, 1993) therapists state that individuals construct their world through polar meanings. Since each relational context (especially the family context) makes some polar meanings more salient than others, the personality and the potential psychopathology of an individual is linked to the specific semantic dimensions co-constructed as salient in her/his relational contexts. In accordance with Guidano and Ugazio, four Family Semantics (FS) are prevalent in Western culture: the FS of “freedom" (centered on fear-courage, independence-dependence polarities), of “goodness" (centered on good-evil, guilt-innocence polarities), of “power" (centered on pride-shame, victory-defeat polarities), and of “belonging” (centered on inclusion-exclusion, joy-despair polarities). Each of these FS manifests itself in a prototypical personality and, only when it’s difficult to take a defined position within them, also in a specific psychopathology (phobic, obsessive, eating and mood disorders respectively). To verify if the FS are consistent and significant constructs in people’s self-defining process a questionnaire was constructed: the Family Semantics Questionnaire (FSQ). So far it has been administered to 400 non-clinical subjects. The factorial analysis identified four scales correspondent to the mentioned FS, so we can confirm that everyone defines themselves consistently with the four FS. The next step will be to administer the FSQ to a clinical sample to verify if not only the personalities are based on and connected to the four FS but also the main psychopathologies. The diagnostic and psychotherapeutic implications will be discussed.