Two newly developed instruments being used in a number of studies examining the influences of intrafamily and extrafamily resources and supports on parent, family, and child functioning are described. The instruments are the Personal Assessment of Life Events (PALE) Scale, developed by C. M. Trivette and others (1988), and the Personal Assessment of Coping Experiences (PACE) Scale, developed by C. J. Dunst and others (1988). The PALE and the PACE assess, respectively, positive life events and a person's use of proactive coping strategies in response to these life events and experiences. Both scales are administered in an interview form. Both are currently being used in several studies in research laboratories. Reliability and validity analyses so far have indicated that both scales have adequate psychometric properties. The potential utility of both scales is illustrated with data from a longitudinal study of the birth and rearing of children in more than 300 families. At present, data are complete through 1 year for 225 families. The pattern of results is consistent with other research, which has found differential relationships between favorable and unfavorable life circumstances and positive and negative aspects of child and parent functioning. Six tables and four figures present study findings. (SLD)