Choosing a family level indicator of family function

There is little information on the concordance of family members' views of their own family functioning. This study, using a convenience sample, measured family APGAR in 70 respondents from 30 families. Lower individual family APGAR score, indicating poorer satisfaction with family functioning, was significantly correlated with poorer individual spirits, greater degree of recent individual stress, poorer subjective rating of health, greater number of office visits and increased no-shows. The mean family APGAR score per family and the female head of household family APGAR score showed higher correlation with more outcome measures than did individual family APGAR scores. Although based on a small pilot experience, the findings suggest that instead of having to obtain family APGAR scores from each family member, a major effort for any primary care practice, an estimate of satisfaction with family functioning by the female head of household may provide a comparable assessment for most purposes.