The primary objective of this study was the development and investigation of the
psychometric properties of a measurement instrument based on the integrated model of
behavior roles of offspring of alcoholic parents (Schneider, 1989,1995). The Behavior
Role Scale was developed utilizing Crocker and Algina's (1986) 10 step instrument
development process and deals directly with the concepts of the original models of
behavior roles of offspring of alcoholic parents (Black, 1981; Booz-Allen & Hamilton,
1974; Deutsch, 1983; Kritzberg, 1985; Wegscheider, 1981). The first three steps of the
instrument development were completed in an earlier investigation (Schneider, 1989). In
this investigation, steps 4 - 8 were completed.
The following activities were undertaken: step 4, the construction of an initial
pool of items; step 5, the review and revision of the items with the assistance of a panel
of experts; step 6, a preliminary tryout of the items in a pilot test; step 7, a field test of
the instrument with a nonclinical sample of offspring of alcoholic parents and offspring
of nonalcoholic parents; and, step 8, initial investigation of the psychometric properties
of the behavior role scale.
This investigation contributed the following findings. The field test yielded
reliability estimates of .72 for the Caretaker, .67 for the Super Achiever, .86 for the
Invisible One, .89 for the Jester, .78 for the Rebel, and an overall alpha of .88. Initial
validity was indicated by the emergence of a five factor model as the most interpretable
factor analysis solution. The performance of the Behavior Role Scale was also
investigated using six validity issues identified in the literature. Offspring of alcoholic
parents, offspring of nonalcoholic parents who had experienced a significant family
disruption, and offspring of nonalcoholic parents who had not experienced a significant
family disruption had significantly different scores with the Super Achiever, Invisible
One, and Rebel roles. The three groups did not demonstrate significant differences with the Caretaker or Jester roles. Additional significant differences were discovered with the
Jester and Rebel roles among offspring of alcoholic fathers when they were compared
according to their fathers' pattern of drinking.
The findings of this investigation add to the research evidence which suggests that
refinements need to be made to improve the clinical and psycho-educational uses of the
behavior roles of offspring of alcoholic parents. Recommendations for future research
include submitting the Behavior Role Scale to construct validation studies in order to
further refine its ability to measure behavior roles and to be of assistance to researchers
seeking to unravel the complexities of life for more than 28 million offspring of alcoholic
parents.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:LACETR/oai:collectionscanada.gc.ca:BVAU.2429/6168 |
| Date | 11 1900 |
| Creators | Schneider, John Donald |
| Source Sets | Library and Archives Canada ETDs Repository / Centre d'archives des thèses électroniques de Bibliothèque et Archives Canada |
| Language | English |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | Electronic Thesis or Dissertation |
| Relation | UBC Retrospective Theses Digitization Project [http://www.library.ubc.ca/archives/retro_theses/] |
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