Measuring Family Systems Outcomes

This chapter reviews family systems theory and its applications in program evaluations. It provides the measures available to assess family functioning or family systems outcomes in program evaluations and makes recommendations for their use in program evaluations. The characteristics of healthy families have not been investigated extensively in methodologically sound studies, there is consensus among clinicians and theorists in characterizing normal family function. The challenge to family programs is to capture the shared goals and preferred modes of program strategies while remaining flexible enough to tailor the program for individual families. The major purposes of the evaluation and the resources available for its implementation will dictate the overall design and the choice of specific instruments and techniques. More sophisticated family programs with staff able to conduct an outcome or summative evaluation may want to use family systems outcome measures to assess progress on a particular objective.