Self-report measures of family competence

Abstract
In a recent issue of this journal Brock (1986) described the development, the reliability and validity, and the clinical usefulness of the Beavers-Timberlawn Family Evaluation Scales (BTFES). These popular observational rating scales were constructed to measure family competence, the primary dimension of the Beavers-Timberlawn Model of family functioning. Since their development in the last decade (Lewis et al., 1976), these scales and the model of family functioning they represent have been used extensively in the testing and evaluation of clinical practice and as a conceptual framework for investigations of the functioning of family systems (Beavers&Voeller, 1983; Gossett et al., 1983; Green&Kolevzon, 1986; Kelsey-Smith&Beavers, 1981; Lewis&Looney, 1983).