A review of instruments for assessing family history

The influence of family history on one's development has long been a focus of psychological theory, research, and practice. In recent years, however, conceptualizations of family influences on development have evolved considerably, and there has also been increased concern about the reliability of individuals' memory for their childhoods in general. Current knowledge regarding these and other issues are applied to reviewing the instruments that have been developed to assess aspects of family history. The complexity of this type of assessment is emphasized, and a variety of problems with the reliability and validity of the currently available instruments are discussed. Suggestions for future research are also offered.