Quantitative, Qualitative, Comparative, and Historical Methodologies Commons^™

Section One: Family Assessment: History, Theory, And Applications

Family Assessment

In this section a more unified research effort in family assessment is advocated by Dr. Halverson. He urges the constructs most important in the study of families be identified by shifting from the study of isolated components of the family to a more global view of family functioning. There is a lack of attention to the nomological net of constructs. Multi-trait and multi-method analysis is recommended to produce useful information regarding the family.

Dr. Carlson continues this critique by highlighting the influential role of theory in the development and use of family assessment measures and methods. Carlson traces the development …

1. Measurement Beyond The Individual, Charles F. Halverson

Family Assessment

This chapter has several goals. First, I will briefly review the history of measurement as it applies to family assessment. This history has been recounted by many and is available in many recent publications, so I shall be fairly brief. Second, I will discuss family measurement in terms of important issues still facing the family measurement field-issues that are not, in my opinion, being well addressed at this time. And finally, I will attempt to weave these various threads into some speculations about the future directions that family measurement might (or maybe needs) to take.

I will confine this …

6. Assessing Marital Quality In Longitudinal And Life Course Studies, David R. Johnson

Family Assessment

INTRODUCTION

Family researchers have been developing measures to assess the quality of the marital relationship for over six decades (e.g., Hamilton, 1929). Indeed, the quality of the husband-wife relationship has been the focus of more research than any other single topic in the field of family study (Spanier & Lewis, 1980). Embedded in these studies are hundreds of varied scales and measures that were designed to assess some aspect of the quality of a marriage (Touliatos, Perlmutter, & Straus, 1990). Lack of consensus on what constitutes marital quality and the absence of any widely accepted and used instruments have contributed …

Family Assessment- Subject Index

Family Assessment

Subject Index (10 pages)

A-W

A

abandonment: 219-220
ABCX model of family stress: 274
academic ability: 206
achievement: 207, 210, 221,225, 227
acculturation: 107, 114, 123
adjusted mean difference: 228
adolescents: 215-216, 220-221
affect: 20, 31, 40, 69, 71, 75, 77, 82-84
affective responsiveness: 77, 86, 92
African Americans: 105-107,109,113- 114
age: 47,82 aggregation: 9,51,54
Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA): 262
analysis of covariance: 227
anger toward parents: 219-220
antisocial behavior: 235-255
Asian Americans: 105-109, 111, 113, 120
assessment formative: 246-248,253
global: 247 standardized: 262, 264-277
asymptomatic family functioning: 70
attitude: 244-245,247
autonomy: 215
average family functioning: 70

W

well-being: …

3. Assessing Family Health And Distress: An Intergenerational-Systemic Perspective, James H. Bray

Family Assessment

In the past several decades there has been a proliferation of interest and development of family systems theories. A unique aspect of a systems perspective is that human problems develop in and because of social interactions usually within the family, rather than solely from some internal process within an individual. A second innovation is the view that human behavior always occurs in a context, and that understanding the context is essential for understanding problem development and resolution. The empirical evaluation and validation of these perspectives has lagged behind theoretical and therapeutic developments. Further, research in this area has been hampered …

Family Assessment- Epilogue

Family Assessment

The previous chapters have illustrated in great depth the intricacies of family assessment. The meaning of family across cultures, the effects of emotional, physical, and mental challenges on family functioning, and the frameworks useful in defining important family constructs have all been explored.

Although there are many measures for the many constructs that have been created to capture the meaning of family interaction, most are rather exploratory or useful only with limited populations. Clinical judgement and research acumen are required to be sure valid assessments are accomplished. There are significant challenges left to meet in designing assessment programs to illuminate …

Family Assessment- Test Index

Family Assessment

Test Index (4 pages)

A

Adult-Adolescent Parenting Inventory: 78

B

Becker Adjective Checklist: 117
Behavior Rating Profile: 117
Building Houses: 6

C

California Test of Personality: 117
Child Behavior Checklist: 46-47, 265
Child Behavior Profile: 117
Child Behavior Questionnaire: 148
Child Report of Parent Behavior Inventory: 117
Child-Rearing Practices Report: 6
Children's Attitudes Toward Parental Separation Inventory: 217-218
Children's Emotional Reactions to the Divorce: 218
Child's Attitude toward Mother and Father Scales: 117
color-matching test: 5
Colorado Self-Report Measure of Family Functioning: 76, 77, 78
Conflict Tactics Scale: 76
Couples Interaction Scoring System: 5

...

T

Temperament Assessment Battery: 149 …

Family Assessment- Complete Work, Jane Close Conoley, Linda L. Murphy, Elaine Buterick Werth

Family Assessment

Assessing families suggests both interesting measurement issues

and significant clinical applications. This volume is a collection of

important papers to explore the topic in some depth.

Some of these papers were first given at the Buros-Nebraska

Symposium on Testing and Measurement. Others have been written

especially for this volume. All are outstanding examples of scholarship

in this very thorny area of psychological measurement beyond the

individual. We commissioned papers that examined the history of

measurement with families and to cover family issues that are of

particular interest to both clinicians and researchers. Overall, the authors have tackled very big issues. …

9. Assessment Issues In Families Of Individuals With Disabilities, Marjorie Ann Padula

Family Assessment

Mortality in mothers and infants has been reduced as medical science has advanced. The ability to extend the lives of individuals born with disabilities, or who become injured later in life, has steadily increased with advances in science. As a result, the existing population of individuals with special needs has grown, thereby increasing the numbers of families affected by a disability. In the past, individuals with severe disabilities may have been institutionalized. Now, although institutions still exist, greater numbers of individuals with disabilities are likely to be cared for in the home. What effect does this have on families and …

Family Assessment- Author Index

Family Assessment

Author Index (12 pages)

A-Z

A

Abbott, D.: 263
Abery, B.: 242
Abidin, R: 81, 265
Abramovitch, R: 134, 135, 136, 137, 139,142,143,144,145,146
Abril, s.: 118
Achenbach, T. M.: 12,47, 118, 223, 265
Acock, A. c.: 206
Adams, G. R: 205
Adams, S. J.: 226
Al-Khayyal, M.: 74
Alexander, J. F.: 75
Allisson, P. D.: 185
Alwin, D. F.: 182,191,194
Amato, P. R: 205- 231, 206, 207, 210, 213,215,216, 219, 221, 222, 224, 227,230 Ammerman, R : 263
Amoloza, T. 0 .: 170, 171,172,176, 179, 187, 188
Anastasi, A.: 265
Anderson, B. J.: 85
Anderson, c.: 117
Anderson, P. P.: …

Title And Contents- Family Assessment, Jane Close Conoley, Linda L. Murphy, Elaine Buterick Werth

Family Assessment

Family Assessment

Content

Preface

SECTION ONE: Family Assessment: History, Theory, and Applications

Measurement Beyond the Individual
Charles F. Halverson

Families as the Focus of Assessment: Theoretical and Practical Issues
Cindy I. Carlson

SECTION TWO: Investigation of Critical Elements of Family Dynamics

Assessing Family Health and Distress: An Intergenerational-Systemic Perspective
James H. Bray

Multicultural Family Assessment
Jane Close Conoley and Lorrie E. Bryant

Sibling Relationships
Michelle C. Schicke

Assessing Marital Quality in Longitudinal and Life Course Studies
David R. Johnson

SECTION THREE: Assessment of Special Challenges Faced by Families

Issues in Measuring the Effects of Divorce on Children
Paul R. Amato …

Preface- Family Assessment, Jane Close Conoley

Family Assessment

Assessing families suggests both interesting measurement issues and significant clinical applications. This volume is a collection of important papers to explore the topic in some depth.

Some of these papers were first given at the Buros-Nebraska Symposium on Testing and Measurement. Others have been written especially for this volume. All are outstanding examples of scholarship in this very thorny area of psychological measurement beyond the individual. We commissioned papers that examined the history of measurement with families and to cover family issues that are of particular interest to both clinicians and researchers.

The book is divided in three sections. Drs. …

Section Two Investigation Of Critical Elements Of Family Dynamics

Family Assessment

This section presents information on the assessment of family constructs that are of interest to most families. Dr. James Bray tackles an area of family issues in which some confusion reigns. Bray addresses the dilemma of the multiple processes and constructs involved with family health with definitions of the most salient features of family functioning. These include communication, conflict, problem solving, emotional bonding, affect, roles, differentiation and individuation, triangulation, intimacy, personal authority in the family system, and family stress. Bray identifies valid and reliable self-report measures available to assess each construct and future research directions for the study of family …

2. Families As The Focus Of Assessment: Theoretical And Practical Issues, Cindy I. Carlson

Family Assessment

The role of early and concurrent family relationships in the etiology of individual development and psychopathology has received increased attention in both research and practice within psychology in recent decades. Although the importance of family relationships in shaping personality has always been central in psychology, it was assumed with psychoanalytic theory that these forces were internalized within the individual such that intrapsychic dynamics were the dominant forces controlling behavior. Consistent with the premises of the dynamic model, the individual was the focus of assessment, treatment, and research within the discipline of psychology. Several converging developments in the 1950s led clinicians …

5. Sibling Relationships, Michelle C. Schicke

Family Assessment

INTRODUCTION

The nature of sibling relationships has been given considerable empirical attention. Research has focused on describing the nature of sibling interaction and roles siblings play in each others' lives, as well as on attempting to support the contention that the sibling relationship can impact children's psychosocial development (Dunn, 1983). The latter purpose has been influenced by two areas: behavior genetics and family systems theory.

Behavior geneticists have proposed that although siblings have roughly half their segregating genes in common, environmental influences operate in a way that makes siblings no more alike than two children chosen at random from the …

Section Three: Assessment Of Special Challenges Faced By Families

Family Assessment

The previous two sections of the volume described family assessment related to the usual issues faced by families. In this final section, the papers are concerned with assessment approaches with families facing particular challenges. Chapters concerning divorce, aggressive children, and the effects of a child with a disability on family and child functioning comprise the third section.

Dr. Paul Amato notes that empirical investigation into the impact of divorce on children lacks the theoretical base that would provide a solid foundation for future research. Amato suggest that current research includes too many dependent variables which results in weak outcomes. Studies …

4. Multicultural Family Assessment, Jane Close Conoley, Lorrie E. Bryant

Family Assessment

Assessing individuals who are members of minority or recent immigrant groups creates special and critical challenges for psychologists committed to equitable practices (Dana, 1993). As previous chapters in this volume have shown, the goal of accomplishing valid family assessments is daunting in its own right. Culturally sensitive procedures of family evaluation are, perhaps, even more difficult to conceptualize and administer.

This chapter will examine several issues relevant to expertise in assessing families whose cultural framework differs from the majority of the u.s. population. The topics to be covered include:

1. What is cultural sensitivity?
2. What are the important constructs …

7. Issues In Measuring The Effects Of Divorce On Children, Paul R. Amato

Family Assessment

The divorce rate in the United States has been increasing steadily for the last century, from 7% of first marriages in 1880 to over 50% in recent decades (Weed, 1980). Even though the divorce rate leveled off in the 1980s, current estimates indicate that nearly two-thirds (64%) of all first marriages will end in divorce or permanent separation (Martin & Bumpass, 1989). Currently, more than one million children experience parental divorce every year in this country (U.S. Bureau of the Census, 1989, p. 92). This increase in the likelihood of marital disruption, and the large number of children involved, has …

8. Family Assessment In Behavioral Parent Training For Antisocial Behavior, Elaine Buterick Werth

Family Assessment

Family assessment as a means of guiding research and practice in mental health and pathology has been carefully examined in the preceding chapters of this text. Individuals, whether healthy or disturbed, function in a network of social interactions, with the primary system of interaction being that of the family. Children, as part of that family system, are not only influenced by other family members within the system but also influence other members and, simultaneously, the dynamics of the total system. The complex network of social interchanges that comprise human functioning begin with the parent-child relationship (see Lerner & Spanier, 1978, …