In the field of social sciences, the significance and utility of comprehensive family assessment instruments are becoming increasingly apparent. The McMaster Family Assessment Device (FAD) is an instrument that has demonstrated significant value in discerning and measuring family dynamics. This conceptual paper is devoted to a comprehensive analysis of the McMaster FAD, elucidating its applicability and utility within the realm of social science research. From January 2022 to January 2023, the authors examined 250 scholarly articles to gain an in-depth understanding of the application of the McMaster FAD as a tool for assessing family functioning within a systemic context. The FAD is comprised of sixty items that have been designed to capture the concepts of healthy and dysfunctional family functioning. Future research should concentrate on refining and adapting the FAD to better meet the requirements of a wide variety of family structures.
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