The Home Interaction Scoring System (HISS) is a recently developed observational coding system allowing for the systematic description of naturalistic family interaction. After discussing the importance of naturalistic observation procedures, we present a brief review of several coding systems that have been developed for this purpose. Based on our evaluation of the strengths and weaknesses of these systems, our rationale for developing a new system is presented, followed by a detailed discussion of the current status of the HISS. In a final section, we discuss a number of in-progress and planned analyses of the HISS relevant to the instrument's value in the assessment of family process.
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