A measure of the stability of family activities: an initial examination.

The Stability of Activities in the Family Environment (SAFE) was designed to sample activities that could occur with some degree of regularity and stability in a variety of families. The SAFE was found to have adequate internal consistency and its validity was suggested by its relationship to other measures of family functioning and to measures of adjustment. The results of the present investigation are consistent with the differentiation of two domains of stability of family activities; those that occur on a daily basis, primarily within the home, and those that are more social in nature and might occur outside of the home. The present findings also indicate the potential value of further consideration of the roles of overall stability of family activities and also of stable positive family activities in facilitating adaptive development.