Family Functioning as a Resource Variable in Psychosocial Cancer Research

This article defines family functioning, reviews the development of measures of family functioning (FACES, FES, F-COPES, and Family APGAR), analyzes studies that have used selected measurements, discusses unresolved issues, and concludes with comments on family functioning as a resource variable in psychosocial research. The four measures of family functioning are useful in clinical research that examines how families facilitate patients' responses to the cancer experience.