A computerized scoring procedure for the Kvebaek Family Sculpture Technique applied to families of children with rheumatic diseases.

A new computer-based quantification procedure was applied to data obtained from administering the Kvebaek Family Sculpture Technique (KFST) to 92 mothers of children with recent onset of rheumatic symptoms (median = 7 months). Four family configuration types (close, hierarchical, unspecified, and skewed) were defined on the basis of distance and structural parameters of the configuration. The types differed with regard to the childhood environment of the mother, chronic family difficulties, and the psychosocial functioning of the primary patient. Comparisons of the families of the mothers that did (n = 23) and did not (n = 69) wish a change of family configuration showed that the families of the mothers who wished change differed with regard to configuration types, distance variables, and psychosocial characteristics. The results are discussed in the context of structural family-systems theory. The computerized scoring procedure opens new possibilities for research about various family members' perspectives and assessment of changes in family configurations during therapy or over time.