BLOCK 6 CENTRAL NERVOUS SYSTEM AND BEHAVIOR BLOCKIntroductionOn 24th August 2014, we visited our foster familys home at Kg. Stakan Melayu, Kota Samarahan for the first time in our second year of studying medicine in UNIMAS. After a long holiday break for about a month transitioning from year one to year two, we were finally assigned with a task to interview our foster family in conjunction with the current block which was central nervous system and behavior block. The objective of the visit was to determine the basic family function with the aid of McMaster Family Assessment Device (FAD). The McMaster Family Assessment Device (FAD) is design to measure family functioning as describe in the McMaster Model of Family Functioning. It is made up of six scale (General functioning, problem solving, communication, roles, affective involvement, & behavior control) one measuring overall family functioning and six dimension of McMaster Model.The objectives for the McMaster Assessment Device (FAD) are to: To understand the meaning of a family. To describe the component of a family. To understand the relationship pattern within a family. To anticipate the outcomes of a dysfunctional family relationship.

MethodsWe managed to achieve the fieldwork objectives which was to identify the family basic functions by using the McMaster Family Assessment Device. Our respondent was our foster mother, Laila Bt. Abu Bakar. Prior to answering the questionnaire, we had to explain to both of our foster parents the objectives of collecting the data and how the data will be utilized. We also explained the content of the questionnaire briefly to them so that they can understand the questions better and answer them easily. We let our respondent to answer the questionnaire by themselves to avoid us from influencing their answer. However, we did guide them through each of the questions to prevent misunderstanding of the questions which can affect the result.We compiled all the respondent responses (Strongly Agree, Agree, Disagree and Strongly Disagree) based on Lickerts scale. Lickerts scale is a type of psychometric scale frequently used in psychology questionnaires. It was developed by and named after organizational psychologist Rensis, Likert. The index for each scale must be below 2.2 to indicate that the scale is healthy. Scales that have index more than 2.2 is considered unhealthy.

ResultsScaleTotal scoreIndexFunctioning of the family

General Functioning1414/12 = 1.17Healthy

Problem Solving1313/6 = 2.17Healthy

Communication1616/9 = 1.78Healthy

Roles2929/11 = 2.64Unhealthy

Affective Involvement1414/7 = 2.00Healthy

Behavior Control1818/9 = 2.00Healthy

OVERALL SCORE: 1.9

Table 1: Score for McMaster Family Assessment Device**Healthy < 2.2OVERALL SCORE = = = = 1.9

ReflectionWe had interviewed Mdm. Laila Bt. Abu Bakar as the respondent for the FAD questionnaire. We found out that from the first scale, the General Function scale, their family scored 1.17 which is a very healthy indication of the general family function (< 2.2 represents healthy).From the interview and our own observation on the interaction between each family member, we can see that our foster family is a warmth and harmony family. Our foster mother told us that their family members will not hide their feelings from each other and they will discuss with each other when they have encountered any problems. Since she has three sons whom are still in primary school, they need a lot of help at this age and also attention from parents and siblings said our foster mother. She strongly believes that her family will help each other in the time of crisis and our foster mother has an older brother who was diagnosed with autism but that taught the entire family to accept every family member for what they are and never judge one another. They were able to make decisions about how to solve problems if they have any and strongly feels that they do confide each other.The second scale is Problem Solving scale, our foster family had scored 2.17 which still in the range of healthy. Problems are normal for every family because that is the nature where humans encounter problems on daily basis. Our foster family is not any different, they had many problems as well but they solve most everyday problems around the house. However, our foster family had some problem in solving emotional problems where the never confront problem-involving feelings. Nevertheless, they would always think of different ways to solve those problems. The third scale is Communication scale, our foster family scored 1.78 which is also healthy. The family members usually can tell if one of them is upset because they rather come right out to say things instead of hinting them which can create misunderstandings and talk to the other person if they have a problem with them instead of through go-between. They strongly feels that they key to solve any problems was talking. When conflict arises and they are angry to each other, they still talk to deal with the problems instead of giving the silent treatment. Thus, the communication in this family is very healthy.The fourth scale on FAD questionnaire is Roles, our foster family scored 2.64 which showed unhealthy indication. The family is aware of their roles as a member of the family and they also believe that each and every one of them has their own responsibilities. However, they still ran out things they need and had trouble meeting their bills. This responsibility usually lies on the shoulder of the head of the family which is the father but since the father made minimal wage, our foster mother felt that she needed to work as well in order to meet the familys needs. Nevertheless, they still spread the task at home fairly but they still need to be reminded for the task given to them.

The fifth scale is Affective Involvement, our foster family scored 2.00 which it indicated a healthy family index. The family members are never selfish and they stay involved in each other matter but sometimes they get too involved in another persons problem. Our foster family showed interest in each other activities and that really helped to bring their family together. Even though they meant well but sometimes they intrude too much into each other lives which can sometimes be interpreted as unhealthy. The last scale is Behavioural Control, our foster father had scored 2.0 which is a healthy indication of the familys behaviour. Our foster family has three kids and they had rules that their children has to follow. Some of these rules are never talk to a stranger, hitting other people comes with consequences, dangerous situation and to stay out of it, etc. There are no exception and they cannot get away easily when they have broken the rules. In addition, our foster family always know what to do in an emergency situation and what to expect out of it which showed that the parents are very wise.From the results that had been gathered through our FAD, our foster family had gain a total score of 1.9 from the FAD questionnaire (< 2.2 represents healthy mental condition) which indicates that the respondent is generally having a healthy functioning family. In a nutshell, it is important to have a healthy functioning family as we can avoid any family crisis. We can see that our foster family is functioning quite well even though they have one scale that indicated unhealthy functioning of the family. They scored below 2.2 for 5 scales and scored more than 2.2 for 1 scales. Nevertheless, they can improve the scores in the Roles scale because their strongest quality was they always talk to each other which is key.