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Multidimensional Work–Family Conflict Scale (Carlson et al.)

An 18-item measure crossing two directions of conflict with three forms — time, strain and behavior based.

HRMWork–Family & Job StressorsFree for research

At a glance

Construct measured	Work–family conflict (direction × form)
Developed by	Carlson, Kacmar & Williams (2000)
Original publication	Carlson, D. S., Kacmar, K. M., & Williams, L. J. (2000). Construction and initial validation of a multidimensional measure of work–family conflict. Journal of Vocational Behavior, 56(2), 249–276. https://doi.org/10.1006/jvbe.1999.1713
Number of items	18 (6 dimensions, 3 items each)
Response format	5-point agreement scale (1 = Strongly disagree to 5 = Strongly agree)

Dimensions & subscales

Time-based work-to-family conflict (3 items)
Time-based family-to-work conflict (3 items)
Strain-based work-to-family conflict (3 items)
Strain-based family-to-work conflict (3 items)
Behavior-based work-to-family conflict (3 items)
Behavior-based family-to-work conflict (3 items)

Reliability (commonly reported)

Dimension alphas are commonly reported around .78–.87.

Validity evidence

Built directly on Greenhaus and Beutell's (1985) conflict typology (content validity); a multi-stage development across several samples supported the six-factor structure by CFA, with invariance evidence and differential relations of the forms with antecedents and outcomes.

Populations & contexts

Working adults across occupations; the preferred choice when the form of conflict (time, strain, behavior) matters theoretically.

Origin, translations & adaptations

United States. Translated into many languages with published validations.

Licensing & permission

Free for academic research (cite the source)
The items are printed in the published article and are routinely used in academic research with citation. Contact the authors/publisher for commercial use.

How to cite (APA 7)

Carlson, D. S., Kacmar, K. M., & Williams, L. J. (2000). Construction and initial validation of a multidimensional measure of work–family conflict. Journal of Vocational Behavior, 56(2), 249–276. https://doi.org/10.1006/jvbe.1999.1713

Short versions & notable variants

Matthews, Kath and Barnes-Farrell (2010) validated an abbreviated 6-item version (one item per dimension)

Related constructs

Work–family enrichmentWork–family balanceRole conflict

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