Using the transverse Ising model, we investigate the dielectric properties and the hysteresis behavior of multi-surface ferroelectric (MSF) thin films in the framework of effective field theory based on the probability distribution technique that accounts for the self-spin correlation functions. The effects of the exchange interactions and the transverse field on the longitudinal and the transverse polarizations, the dielectric susceptibility, the pyroelectric coefficient, and the hysteresis loops are studied. A number of interesting phenomena have been found.