Genogram example · Family structure
Four Generation Genogram Example
Quick answer
At a glance
| This example | |
|---|---|
| Generations | 4 |
| Family members | 13 |
| Index person | Claire Hartley |
| Conditions marked | Medical shading and In remission or recovery |
| Category | Family structure |
| Tags | Family Structure, Educational, Medical |
About this genogram
A four generation genogram of the fictional Hartley family: both sets of grandparents, the parents (who divorced in 2001) with their siblings, the index person Claire with her husband and brother, and Claire's two children. Health conditions are shaded on each person, causes of death are written under the deceased grandparents, and emotional lines show Claire's closeness to her mother and her caregiving for her grandmother.
Family analysis
Overview
This four generation genogram maps 13 members of the fictional Hartley and Moretti families. The index person is Claire Hartley (40), a physiotherapist with anxiety who is raising two young children and sharing the care of her grandmother Rosa, recently diagnosed with early Alzheimer's dementia.
Generation one: the grandparents
Generation one holds both grandparent couples. On the paternal side George Hartley died of lung cancer in 1998 (he smoked) and Edith of a stroke in 2016 after years of hypertension. On the maternal side Frank Moretti died of a heart attack in 2009 with coronary heart disease and type 2 diabetes; Rosa (85) is still living.
Generation two: the parents and the divorce
In generation two, David Hartley (68) has hypertension like his mother, and his older brother Alan (71) is in recovery from alcohol misuse. David married Maria Moretti (63), a nurse with depression, in 1984; they divorced in 2001, and the double slash and "m 84 - d 01" label record it. A conflict line between them shows the relationship is still strained. Maria's sister Lucia (60) completes the row.
Generations three and four
Generation three is Claire, her brother Ben (37) and her husband Sam Okoro (41), married in 2013. Two blue lines show Claire is close to her mother, and a caregiving line runs from Claire to Rosa. Generation four is Claire's children, Ella (11) and Noah (8), who has asthma.
Patterns across four generations
Read top to bottom, the chart shows cardiovascular disease on both sides of the family (stroke, heart attack, hypertension in David), which matters for Claire and Ben's own health checks, and a caregiving role passing from Maria to Claire as Rosa's dementia progresses while Claire also has young children.
How do you read the Four Generation Genogram Example?
- 1
Find each person and generation
Squares are males and circles are females, and each row is one generation, oldest at the top. It spans 4 generations. - 2
Follow the family lines
Horizontal lines join partners and vertical lines drop to their children, born left to right in birth order. This genogram uses Marriage, Divorce, Widowed and Parent-child line lines. - 3
Read the shading
Shaded symbols mark health conditions: Medical shading and In remission or recovery. Trace each line of descent to see where a condition recurs and where it stops.
Genogram symbols used in this example
| Symbol | Type | What it means |
|---|---|---|
| Male (Square) | Person Symbols | A square represents a male family member. |
| Female (Circle) | Person Symbols | A circle represents a female family member. |
| Index person (highlighted outline) | Person Symbols | The person at the centre of the genogram is drawn with a highlighted outline. |
| Deceased (X) | Person Symbols | An X through the symbol marks a person who has died; birth and death years are written above it. |
| Age inside the symbol | Person Symbols | The current age (or age at death) is written inside each symbol, with years above it. |
| Marriage | Couples | A solid line between partners; the marriage year is written on the line (m 13 = married 2013). |
| Divorce | Couples | Two slashes across the couple line mark a divorce, with the year (d 01). |
| Widowed | Couples | A small x on the couple line marks the end of a marriage through death (wid 98). |
| Parent-child line | Couples | A vertical line from the couple line to each child; siblings run oldest to youngest from left to right. |
| Close | Relationships | Two parallel blue lines mark an emotionally close relationship. |
| Conflict | Relationships | Two dashed red lines mark an ongoing conflictual relationship. |
| Caregiving | Relationships | A red line with a double arrowhead points from the caregiver to the person she cares for. |
| Medical shading | Medical | The left half of a symbol is shaded for a physical or mental illness and the bottom half for alcohol or drug use; each condition has its own colour, listed in the key. |
| In remission or recovery | Medical | A partly filled section marks a condition in recovery, here Alan's alcohol misuse. |
Build a genogram like this one
Example prompt
- 1
Start from the dashboard
Sign in to GenogramAI and choose Create with AI (paid plans), or open a blank genogram and use Ask AI (any plan). To start from this exact chart instead, use Open as template. - 2
Describe your family
Paste a description like the one above, with your own names, dates, relationships and health history. - 3
Check and adjust
Edit people and lines by hand, or ask the AI for one change at a time. - 4
Export
Download a PNG on the free plan. PDF and SVG export are on paid plans.
The free plan includes 2 genograms and 5 AI credits a month. See the AI genogram creator for what else it can do.
Related resources
- Start from the blank 4 generation genogram template (free PDF and PowerPoint).
- For the standard layout, see the 3 generation genogram guide.
- See the caregiving line in the symbols guide.
- Health shading is explained in the medical genogram guide.
Frequently asked questions
What does a four generation genogram show?
It adds one generation to the standard three: here the grandparents, the parents, the index person with her siblings and partner, and the index person's own children. The extra row lets you follow a pattern, such as heart disease or a caregiving role, from the oldest generation down to the youngest.
Which four generations should I include?
Count from the person the genogram is about. If the index person is an adult with children, use grandparents, parents, the index person's generation and the children, as in this example. If the index person is a child, go up instead and add the great-grandparents.
How do I keep a four generation genogram readable?
Keep one row per generation, put siblings oldest to youngest from left to right, place each married-in partner beside their spouse, and limit emotional lines to the few relationships that matter for the question you are asking. This chart has 13 people and three emotional lines.
Can I use this four generation genogram as a template?
Yes. Open it in GenogramAI and replace the names, years and conditions with your own family; the four rows, partner lines and key stay in place. The Free plan holds 2 genograms and exports PNG.
About this example
