Three-dimensional (3-D) Circumplex Model and revised scoring of FACES III.

FACES III can, however, continue to be a useful scale now that the Circumplex Model has been expanded into a three-dimensional design. Past and future studies would benefit from using FACES III as a linear dimension with high scores representing Balanced types and low scores representing Extreme types. This approach means that many past studies with FACES III need to be re-analyzed and/or re-interpreted in light of this 3-D Model. This revised scoring will significantly increase the number of studies that support the basic hypotheses of the Circumplex model, that Balanced families tend to function in more effective ways. It is clear from more recent work with the Clinical Rating Scale (CRS) that the lack of support for the curvilinear hypotheses of the Circumplex Model is due to the limitations of the FACES instrument and not the underlying theoretical model. The CRS clearly demonstrated the curvilinear pattern that has been hypothesized. It is important that future studies using FACES III analyze data in a linear way that fits with the three-dimensional model. In this way, there is a better match conceptually and methodologically between FACES III and the Circumplex Model. It is also highly recommended that future studies use both the self-report of FACES and the observational approaches to family assessment of the Clinical Rating Scale. This combined approach will help advance the field conceptually, methodologically, and clinically.