Although it is lengthy, the Family Background Questionnaire (FBQ) provides reliable behaviorally specific family history information. Results from reliability and validity analyses suggest that a brief version of this instrument that assesses parental responsiveness, child maltreatment, and parental substance abuse would provide a useful screening instrument for obtaining family history information. The authors undertook the present study to develop a brief version that would incorporate recent research and theoretical developments in the field and that would maintain the original instrument's reliability and validity. Before introducing the brief version, the authors review the theoretical rationale for both the original and brief versions of the FBQ. Then the authors describe the procedures used to develop the brief FBQ. Finally, the authors compare the results of the reliability, factor structure, and other analyses of the brief version of the instrument with those of the original FBQ. (Contains 3 tables.)