Development of a measure examining children's roles in alcoholic families

A measure assessing the roles played by children in their alcoholic families is presented. In Study 1, an item pool was generated targeting four distinct roles discussed in the alcohol literature, and the items were reviewed by a panel of experts. The Children's Roles Inventory (CRI) was then administered to 140 adult children of alcoholics and their responses were used to refine the measure. Observed levels of internal consistency seemed adequate (Cronbach's alpha ranged from .89 to .95). In a replication effort (Study 2), the CRI was administered to 142 adult children of alcoholics. Internal consistency remained at acceptable levels, ranging from .90 to .95. Study 3 examined the CRI's convergent and discriminant validity. A sample of 138 adult children of alcoholics as well as a sample of 105 adults from nonalcoholic families completed the CRI, a measure of self-esteem and an index of one's use of social support. Reliability results from Studies 1 and 2 were replicated (in both samples). Likewise, in both samples the CRI subscales were differentially predictive of self-esteem as well as size of and satisfaction with one's social support network.