Evidence-based assessment in pediatric psychology: family measures.
OBJECTIVE
To provide a review of the evidence base of family measures relevant to pediatric psychology.


METHODS
Twenty-nine family measures were selected based upon endorsement by Division 54 listserv members, expert judgment, and literature review. Spanning observational and self-report methods, the measures fell into three broad assessment categories: Family functioning, Dyadic family relationships, and Family functioning in the context of childhood chronic health conditions. Measures were categorized as: "Well-established", "Approaching well-established", or "Promising."


RESULTS
Nineteen measures met "well-established" criteria and the remaining ten were "approaching well-established." "Well-established" measures were documented for each of the broad assessment categories named above.


CONCLUSIONS
Many measures deemed "well-established" in the general population are proving to be reliable and useful in pediatric samples. More evidence of the validity of family measures is needed in this context. This review should prove helpful to clinicians and researchers as they strive to make evidence-based decisions regarding family measures.
Alderfer
Melissa A
MA
The Children's Hospital of Philadelphia, Civic Center Blvd, Philadelphia, PA 19104, USA. alderfer@email.chop.edu
Fiese
Barbara H
BH
Gold
Jeffrey I
JI
Cutuli
J J
JJ
Holmbeck
Grayson N
GN
Goldbeck
Lutz
L
Chambers
Christine T
CT
Abad
Mona
M
Spetter
Dante
D
Patterson
Joän
J
D000223:Adaptation, Psychological; D000293:Adolescent; D002648:Child; D002908:Chronic Disease / Q000523:psychology*; D017281:Cost of Illness; D019317:Evidence-Based Medicine / Q000592:standards*; D005195:Family Relations; D006801:Humans; D008016:Life Change Events; D009769:Object Attachment; D016487:Parenting / Q000523:psychology; D011594:Psychometrics / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D015203:Reproducibility of Results; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires