Toward an empirical confirmation of the Wegscheider role theory

This study explored the validity of the Wegscheider role typology through the development of a measure to assess the extent to which adolescents manifest the characteristics of the respective roles explicated in the theory. Subjects were 224 students enrolled in Grades 9 through 12 of a university developmental research school. A principal components analysis yielded five orthogonal and independent constructs. Four of the five factors were interpreted as consistent with the Wegscheider typology. Sixteen items loaded on the achievement factor (hero role), 11 items the entertainment factor (mascot role), 9 items on the nonconformity factor (scapegoat role), 7 items on the emotional sensitivity factor (lost child role), and 3 items on the domesticity factor (enabler role). Alpha reliabilities ranged from .74 to .85. The factor structure was replicated on two independent data sets. The domesticity factor did not appear to be a valid measure of Wegscheider's description of the enabler role. The inference is that adolescents tend not to play the enabler role in their families.