CYDS Family Relationship Measure

Scale Description

Prepared by:

Tamara M. Haegerich, M.A.

Reference: Tolan, P.H., Gorman-Smith, D., & Henry, D.B. (2001). Chicago Youth
Development Study Family Relationship Measure Scale Description. Families and
Communities Research Group, Institute for Juvenile Research, Department of Psychiatry,
The University of Illinois at Chicago.

Chicago Youth Development Study Data Office

Institute for Juvenile Research (M/C 747)
Department of Psychiatry, The University of Illinois at Chicago
840 S. Wood
Chicago, IL 60612
 CYDS Family Relationship Measure Scale Description

The Family Relationship Measure (Tolan, Gorman-Smith, Huesmann, & Zelli, 1997) is a

35-item, multiple informant rating scale assessing dimensions of family functioning and beliefs.

The measure was developed for use with low-income, urban families; however, as a predictor of

psychopathology, relations vary little by age, ethnicity, marital status of parent, or family income.

The Family Relationship Measure uses 5-point Likert scales to assess how true a

respondent feels an item is for his or her family. A multiple informant procedure is used to create

composite scores based on responses from children and parents. Either a computerized interview

or a self-report paper-and-pencil format can be used for administration.

The measure is composed of six subscales: Cohesion, Beliefs About Family, Deviant

Beliefs, Organization, Support, and Communication. From these scales, three higher-order

factors are generated: Cohesion, Structure, and Beliefs. The six domains and three higher-order

factors of the Family Relationship Measure are similar to those identified in other measures of

family relationship quality. As a predictor of risk, the Family Relationship Measure also relates

to child syndromes such as aggressive behavior and depression.

Mean values across informants are obtained for responses relating to daily interactions

and other behaviors. In consideration of both the average extent of endorsement and the level of

informant agreement, products of informants’ responses are obtained for responses relating to

beliefs and values.

For more detailed information about scoring and coding procedures, see:

Tolan, P.H., Gorman-Smith, D., & Henry, D.B. (1999). Family Relationship Scale:

Instructions to Code and Scale. Families and Communities Research Group, Institute for Juvenile

Research, Department of Psychiatry, The University of Illinois at Chicago.

 FRS Coding Instructions 3

Running Head: FAMILY RELATIONSHIP SCALE CODING INSTRUCTIONS

Family Relationship Scale: Instructions to Code and Scale

University of Illinois at Chicago

Correspondence should be directed to:

Patrick H. Tolan, Ph.D.

Institute for Juvenile Research (M/C 747)
Department of Psychiatry
840 S. Wood
Chicago, IL 60612
Family Relationship Scale: Instructions to Code and Scale
 FRS Coding Instructions 4

The Family Relationship Scale (FRS) has been used for both research and clinical

purposes to measure six aspects of family relationships (Beliefs About Family, Cohesion, Shared

Deviant Beliefs, Support, Organization, & Communication) and the three underlying basic

dimensions (Cohesion, Family Beliefs, & Structure). It was developed by both Dr. Patrick H.

Tolan and Dr. Deborah Gorman-Smith. The FRS is intended to be used with two sources per

family, but instructions for scoring when only a single source is available are also provided here.

Proper utilization requires coding and then scaling of family members' responses. Instructions

and a coding/scaling template follow for both one and two raters. The following instructions

explain how to both code and scale this measure.

Validity

The Family Relationship Scale was validated on two independent samples - one sample

consisted of adolescent male inner-city youth and their parent(s) and the other sample consisted

of parents of inner city and urban poor elementary school children. The internal consistency of

the final scales is as follows: Beliefs About Family, % = .87; Cohesion, % = .72; Shared Deviant

Beliefs, % = .68; Support, % = .65; Organization, % = .66; Communication, % = .54. We have

included norms for the entire sample in table 1. Table 2 includes ethnicity norms for the FRS.

We have also included the norms by grade in table 3 and the norms by parent s partner status in

table 4. A parent was considered partnered if he or she is married or living as if married. The

FRS is currently being used with a wide range of samples. We encourage you to conduct

psychometrics including confirmatory factor analysis with your sample and request you to send

this and basic validity findings for us to include in subsequent dissemination.

 FRS Coding Instructions 5

_____________________________

Insert Tables 1-4 here

_____________________________

Coding the Family Relationship Scale

Questions 2, 9-10, 12-15, 17, 19-20, 22, 25-26, 30-36, 39-50, 52, 59-61 are scaled as

follows: A=1, B=2, C=3, D=4

Questions 1, 3-8, 11, 16, 18, 21, 23-24, 27-29, 37-38, 51, 53-58 are reverse scored as

follows: A=4, B=3, C=2, D=1

(See coding template at the end of the instructions)

Table 5 provides an overview of how the FAM is coded.

_____________________________

Insert Table 5 here

_____________________________

Instructions

"Beliefs About Family" and "Shared Deviant Beliefs" scales

One rater

Please refer to the "one rater" coding template. First, sum all of the answers within the

scale. Next, divide this sum by the total number of items answered on that scale to obtain the

final scaled score.

Two raters
 FRS Coding Instructions 6

Please refer to the "two raters" coding template. Both the "Beliefs About Family" scale

and the "Shared Deviant Beliefs" scales require the use of product scores when it is completed by

two family members. Step 1: Multiply the two raters scores together to obtain a product score

for each item. For example, if the measure is given out to both parents then use the product of

the mother s and father s score for each question. So, for question number 40, the product score

would be a result of the mother's response to question 40 multiplied with the father's response to

question 40. Repeat this until a product score for each question with two raters has been

obtained.

Step 2: Now, to bring the score back into a similar range of the one rater score, take the

square root of the product score. This is the finalized item score. If one rater skips a question,

then forego Steps 1 and 2 for that item.

After obtaining the proper score for each question in the "Beliefs About Family"

(questions 40-45) and Shared Deviant Beliefs (questions 53, 54, 57, & 58) scales, all of these

product scores should be averaged within their respective scales. Steps 3 and 4 will explain how

to do that. Please see the end of the "two raters" coding template for further guidance with Steps

3 and 4. Step 3: Sum all of the finalized item scores within the scale. Step 4: Next, count how

many questions were answered by each family within each scale (i.e., the highest number

answered by either respondent). Then average these two scores by dividing the sum of the

finalized item scores by the total number of questions answered to obtain the final scaled score.

All other scales

One rater
 FRS Coding Instructions 7

Please refer to the one rater coding template. First, sum all of the answers within the

scale. Next, divide this sum by the total number of items answered on the scale to obtain the

final scaled score.

Two raters

Please refer to the two raters coding template. If two family members fill out the

Family Relationship Scale, then their two scores must be averaged to form a single score for each

question (for the Cohesion , Support , Organization , & Communication scales). Step 1:

Average the two responses to each item to form one score per item. For example, if a mother and

father both answer question number 14, then the mother s score to question 14 and the father s

score to question 14 must be averaged together to form one score for question 14. If one parent

is missing then there is no need to average the score for that question.

After obtaining the proper score for each question, all of these new , or averaged, item

scores should be averaged within each scale. Step 2: Average all combined items within each

scale in order to obtain the final scaled score for each family. For example, once all of the

average scores have been computed for each of the items on the Cohesion scale (questions 14,

15, 17, 19, 20, & 22), then all of the averaged scores for questions 14, 15, 17, 19, 20, and 22

should be averaged together in order to obtain the final scaled score.

 FRS Coding Instructions 8

Table 1:

Norms for each scale of the Family Relations Measure.

Scale N Mean Standard Deviation

Beliefs About Family 945 3.50 .40

Cohesion 945 3.26 .49

Shared Deviant Beliefs 943 1.37 .43

Support 945 3.11 .57

Organization 945 3.35 .51

Communication 945 3.13 .62

 FRS Coding Instructions 9

Table 2:

Norms for each scale in the Family Relations Measure, by ethnicity*.

Beliefs About Shared Deviant

Family Cohesion Beliefs Support Organization Communication

Ethnicity n M SD n M SD n M SD n M SD n M SD n M SD

African-
351 3.51a .43 351 3.15a .50 351 1.41a .61 351 3.22a .58 351 3.36a .49 351 2.99a .60
American
Caucasian 90 3.36b .36 90 3.10a .37 90 1.36a .38 90 3.04b .47 90 3.15b .44 90 2.97a .49

Hispanic 389 3.48a .36 389 3.38b .48 387 1.37a .41 389 2.99b .56 389 3.34a .53 389 3.30b .60

Other 19 3.71a .31 19 3.49b .40 19 1.43a .63 19 3.33a,b .54 19 3.56a .32 19 3.40b .47

F (4, 940) 6.68** 14.39** 3.33*** 11.26** 7.65** 16.28**

Note: Within columns, means with different superscripts are significantly different at p < .05.

* Ninety-six participants were excluded because their ethnicity was unknown.

**p < .001. ***p < .01 and F (4, 938).

 FRS Coding Instructions 10

Table 3:

Means and Standard Deviations of FRS by grade.

Beliefs About Shared Deviant

Family Cohesion Beliefs Support Organization Communication

Grade n M SD n M SD n M SD n M SD n M SD n M SD

K 425 3.60a .34 425 3.35a .50 425 1.31a .41 425 3.35a .46 425 3.62a .37 425 3.25a .65

2 142 3.38b .43 142 3.22a,b .44 142 1.43a,b .42 142 2.96b .55 142 3.17b .47 142 3.08b .56

3 188 3.43b .40 188 3.16b .51 187 1.37a,b .40 188 2.86b .57 188 3.12b .51 188 3.04b .58

4 4 3.93a,b .01 4 3.54a,b .28 4 1.38a,b .43 4 3.46a,b .66 4 3.50a,b .24 4 3.08a,b .69

5 155 3.40b .40 155 3.18b .46 155 1.47b .46 155 2.92b .60 155 3.11b .50 155 3.00b .57

6 31 3.52a,b .55 31 3.19a,b .57 30 1.52a,b .61 31 3.01b .53 31 3.22b .63 31 3.05a,b .62

F (5, 939) 12.42** 5.95** 4.61*** 34.21** 53.74** 5.91**

Note: Within columns, means with different superscripts are significantly different at p < .05.

**p < .001. ***p < .001 and F (5, 937).

 FRS Coding Instructions 11

Table 4:

Norms for the Family Relationship Scale by Primary Care-Giver s Partner Status*.

Married or Living as if

No Partner or Spouse Married

Scale n Mean SD n Mean SD F p

Beliefs About Family 322 3.55 .44 561 3.49 .37 5.90 .02

Cohesion 322 3.23 .51 561 3.29 .49 3.45 .06

Shared Deviant Beliefs 321 1.42 .47 560 1.35 .40 5.79 .02

Support 322 3.24 .56 561 3.06 .56 21.60 .00

Organization 322 3.39 .51 561 3.37 .50 .32 N. S.

Communication 322 2.98 .63 561 3.23 .60 35.20 .00

*Sixty-two participants were excluded because the parent s partner status was unknown.
 FRS Coding Instructions 12

Table 5:

Scaling the Family Relationship Scale: An overview of the coding instructions.

Name of Scale Question Numbers How to score

Beliefs about Family 40-49* A=4, B=3, C=2, D=1

Cohesion 14-15, 17, 19-20, 22 ** A=1, B=2, C=3, D=4

Shared Deviant Beliefs 53-54, 57-58* A=4, B=3, C=2, D=1

Support 1, 4-6, 8, 11** A=4, B=3, C=2, D=1

Organization 3, 21, 23-24, 28-29 ** A=4, B=3, C=2, D=1

Communication 2, 9, 13** A=1, B=2, C=3, D=4

* use product and square root for multiple raters
** use average for multiple raters

Chicago Youth Development Study

Family Relationship Scale

Patrick H. Tolan, Ph.D.

Deborah Gorman-Smith, Ph.D.

and

David B. Henry, Ph.D.

 Chicago Youth Development Study
Institute for Juvenile Research (M/C 747)
Department of Psychiatry, The University of Illinois at Chicago
840 S. Wood St.
Chicago, IL 60612
 Family Relationship Scale
CITE: Tolan, Ph. G., Gorman-Smith, D., Huesmann, L. R., & Zelli, A. (1997). Assessment of family
relationship characteristics: A measure to explain risk for antisocial behavior and depression among urban
youth. Psychological Assessment, 9, 212-223.

INTERVIEWER INSTRUCTIONS: “Below are a list of things that describe families. We want to
know how much each one is true about your family. Using the scale on this sheet, circle the letter under
each item to say how true each one is about your family in your opinion.”

Almost
Always
Not At All Hardly True A or Always
True Ever True Lot True
1. My family expects too much of me. A B C D

2. My family knows what I mean when I say

something. A B C D

3. My family doesn’t care about me. A B C D

4. I often don’t understand what other family

members are saying. A B C D

5. If someone in the family has upset me, I keep it

to myself. A B C D

6. I have trouble accepting someone else’s answer

to a family problem. A B C D

7. If I’m upset with another family member, I let

someone else tell them about it. A B C D

8. My family doesn’t let me be myself. A B C D

9. My family and I have the same views about

what is right and wrong. A B C D

10. I keep on trying when things don’t work out in

the family. A B C D

11. I am tired of being blamed for family problems. A B C D

12. I am able to let others in the family know how I

really feel. A B C D
 Almost
Always
Not At All Hardly True A or Always
True Ever True Lot True
13. My family and I have the same views about
being successful. A B C D

14. I’m available when others in the family want to

talk to me. A B C D

15. I listen to what other family members have to

say, even when I disagree. A B C D

16. I worry too much about the rest of my family. A B C D

17. Family members ask each other for help. A B C D

18. In solving problems, the family follows the

children’s suggestions. A B C D

19. Family members like to spend free time with

each other. A B C D

20. Family members feel very close to each other. A B C D

21. The children make the decisions in our family. A B C D

22. We can easily thing of things to do together as a

family. A B C D

23. It is hard to identify the leaders in our family. A B C D

24. It is hard to tell who does which household

chores. A B C D

25. Family members attend church, synagogue, or

Sunday school fairly often. A B C D

26. We often talk about the religious meaning of

Christmas, Passover, or other holidays. A B C D

27. I get headaches or other aches and pains after

we fight. A B C D

28. I sometimes get headaches or other aches and

pains after I fight with my family. A B C D
 Almost
Always
Not At All Hardly True A or Always
True Ever True Lot True
29. I sometimes use feeling sick to get out of doing
something. A B C D

30. Our family changes its way of handling tasks. A B C D

31. Parents and children discuss punishment

together. A B C D

32. Rules change in our family. A B C D

33. We shift household responsibilities from person

to person. A B C D

34. I never argue about who should do what in our

family. A B C D

35. We approve of each other’s friends. A B C D

36. When our family gets together for activities,

everybody is present. A B C D

37. We don’t say prayers in our house. A B C D

38. I use illness as a way to get out of doing

something. A B C D

39. My family knows what to expect from me. A B C D

Below are some questions about how you think families should be. Circle the letter under each
item to indicate how much you agree with each.

Strongly Strongly
Disagree Disagree Agree Agree
40. Family togetherness is very important. A B C D

41. Kids should value a close relationship with their

family and not have to be asked to spend time at
home. A B C D

42. No matter what, family members should stick

together. A B C D

43. Family members should be able to “speak their

minds” with one another. A B C D

44. Parents should teach their children what they

need to know to “make it” in the world. A B C D

45. Children should always talk to their parents

with respect. A B C D

46. Kids should obey their parents even when they

don’t agree. A B C D

47. Parents should expect kids my child’s age to do

some work around the house. A B C D

If this assessment is not regarding a specific child of yours, please select a child and answer
questions 48-52 with that child in mind. Please indicate the age and gender of the child you have
in mind on the spaces provided.

Male / Female
CHILD’S AGE EASE CIRCLE ONE)
 Strongly Strongly
Disagree Disagree Agree Agree
48. Kids ‘s age should call home if they
think they might be late. A B C D

49. Kids ‘s age should clean up for

themselves without having to be told. A B C D

50 For a kid ‘s age, parents should have

some say in choosing his friends. A B C D

51. Parent's should let kids 's age decide

for themselves how and where to spend their
free time. A B C D

52. Kids 's age should not dress in a way

their parents don't like. A B C D

53. It’s okay to lie to someone if it will keep you

out of trouble with them. A B C D

54. It’s O.K. to steal something from someone who

is rich and can easily replace it. A B C D

55. Most successful people probably cheated to get

where they are. A B C D

56. When you feel someone is out to get you, it’s

better to get them first. A B C D

57. It’s O.K. to skip school every once in awhile. A B C D

58. It’s O.K. to fight if the other guy says bad

enough things about you or your family. A B C D

59. Parents owe it to their kids to give them the

best. A B C D

60 A person’s number one concern should be the

concerns of his/her family. A B C D

61. When parents and kids disagree, parents should

be willing to meet their kids halfway. A B C D