Bruce A' Bracken, PhD

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Bruce A. Bracken, PhD
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About the Author
Bruce A. Bracken, PhD Professor The College of
William Mary School of Education P.O. Box
8795 Williamsburg, VA 23187-8795 757.221.1712 bab
rac_at_wm.edu http//babrac.people.wm.edu/
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Presentation Outline

• Multidimensional Adjustment and Assessment of
  Students Interpersonal Relations
• Clinical Assessment of Interpersonal Relations
  (CAIR)
• Development Goals
• Key Features
• Description Scales, Support Model, Relationship
  Characteristics
• Norm Characteristics and Technical Adequacy
• Administration and Scoring
• Interpretation
• Case Study

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Multifaceted Nature of Adjustment

• Multidimensional, context-dependent model of
  adjustment, with six primary life domains
• Three intra-personal domains
• Affect
• Competence
• Physical
• Three interpersonal domains
• Social
• Academic
• Family

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Developmental Nature of PsychosocialAdjustment

• Adjustment becomes increasingly differentiated
  with age
• Life domains differentiate as a function of
  exposure

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AssessmentTriangulation
Other Sources- Direct Observation -
Indirect Approaches (e.g., Projective
Techniques) - Background Information
- Clinical Interview

Behavioral and Psychosocial Adjustment
Third-Party Report- CAB Parent/Teacher
Social Skills Scale - Sociometry
Self-Report - Clinical Assessment of
Interpersonal Relations
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CAIRClinical Assessment of Interpersonal
Relations
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CAIR Features

• Self-report (student completed)
• Ages 9 to 19 years
• Third grade reading level
• 35 items repeated on each of five scales
• Male Peers, Female Peers Mother,
  Father Teacher
• Reflects three interpersonal domains
• Social
• Family
• Academic

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CAIR Features

• Twenty - minute completion time
• Theoretically based
• Four dimensions of relationship support
• Fifteen relationship characteristics
• Allows for prorating
• Single-parent situations
• Skipped Items
• Norm-referenced and Ipsative interpretation
  options
• Mandatory element of Emotional Disturbance
  diagnosis

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CAIR Features

• Uses a Four-point Item response format
• Strongly Agree
• Agree
• Disagree
• Strongly Disagree
• Provides score reporting consistent with CAB,
  CAD, CAT and most personality tests
• Standard scores (T-scores)
• Percentile ranks
• Confidence intervals
• Qualitative classifications
• Graphical profile display

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Constructing the CAIRA Multidimensional,
Multi-Step, Multi-Year Process
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INTERPERSONAL RELATIONS DEFINED

• 15 RELATIONSHIP CHARACTERISTICS
• Companionship
• Emotional Support
• Guidance
• Emotional Comfort
• Reliance
• Understanding
• Conflict Resolution
• Identification
• Respect
• Empathy
• Intimacy
• Affect
• Acceptance
• Shared Values

• DEFINITION
• The unique and relatively stable behavioral
  pattern that exists or develops between two
  people as a result of individual and
  extra-individual influences.
• INTERPERSONAL SUPPORT
• Esteem Support
• Informational Support
• Instrumental Support
• Social Support

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Serious Emotional Disturbance Defined

• Disabilities Education Act (IDEA), Public Law
  101-476 defines SED as one or more of the
  following characteristics over a long period of
  time and to a marked degree that adversely
  affects educational performance
• (A) An inability to learn that cannot be
  explained by intellectual, sensory, or health
  factors
• (B) An inability to build or maintain
  satisfactory interpersonal relationships with
  peers and teachers
• (C) Inappropriate types of behavior or feelings
  under normal circumstances
• (D) A general pervasive mood of unhappiness or
  depression
• (E) A tendency to develop physical symptoms or
  fears associated with personal or school
  problems."

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Item ConstructionConsiderations

• Self-report measure of students perceptions of
  relationship qualities using Likert format
• Four-point forced-choice scale to avoid
  noncommittal responses
• Consistent item format for all five scales
• Both positively and negatively connoted
  conditions depicted
• Simple language, third-grade reading level

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Item ConstructionConsiderations

• 6. Items reflect 15 core relationship qualities
• 7. Item content universal to all 9 19
  year-olds
• 8. Non-timed instrument
• 9. CAIR can be administered by
  paraprofessionals, but must be interpreted by
  professionals
• 10. Items collectively sample the universe of
  content and contexts associated with relationships

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Psychiatric Conditions Related to Interpersonal
Relations

• Adjustment Disorder - with Anxiety - with
  Conduct Disturbance
• Antisocial Personality
• Attention Deficit Disorder
• Autistic Disorder
• Avoidant Disorder
• Avoidant Personality

• Body Dysmorphic Disorder
• Borderline Personality
• Childhood Disintegrative Disorder
• Communication Disorder
• Conduct Disorder
• Delusional Disorder
• Depression

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Psychiatric Conditions Related to Interpersonal
Relations

• Dysthymic Disorder
• Histrionic Personality
• Identity Disorder
• Intermittent Explosive Disorder
• Learning Disorders
• Narcissistic Personality
• Oppositional Defiant Disorder

• Paranoid Personality
• Pervasive Developmental Disorder
• Schizoid Personality
• Schizophrenia
• Schizotypal Disorder
• Sexual Disorders
• Social Phobia
• Specific Phobias

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Behavioral Correlates of Interpersonal Relations

• Adolescent and adult psychosocial adjustment
  (Parker Asher, 1987)
• Future sex role development (Fagot, 1977)
• Expression of intimacy (Buhrmester, 1990)
• Moral development (Berndt, McCartney, Caparulo,
  Moore, 1984)
• Emotional security and understanding of the
  social structure (Panella, Cooper, Henggeler,
  1982)
• Childhood and adolescent aggression (Dodge,
  Coie, Brakke, 1982 Hartup, 1979)

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Behavioral Correlates of Interpersonal Relations

• Juvenile crime (Parker Asher, 1987)
• Risk of dropping out of school (Elliott Voss,
  1974)
• Behavioral disturbance (Panella Henggeler,
  1986)
• Learning disabilities (Bryan, 1974, 1982
  Dishion, 1990)
• Mentally retardation (Gottlieb, Semmel,
  Veldman, 1978)
• Social isolation (Wanlass Prinz, 1982)
• Bad conduct discharge from the military (Roff,
  1961)
• Emotional Disturbance (IDEA)

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Intra-individual Factors Related to Interpersonal
Relations

• Position in birth order (Schacter, 1964 Sells
  Roff, 1964)
• Parents' style of nurturance and providing care
  (Baumrind, 1967, 1971 Hinde Tamplin, 1983
  MacDonald Parke, 1984)
• Parental mental health (Becker, Peterson,
  Hellmer, Shoemaker, Quay, 1959 Forehand, Long,
  Brody, Fauber, 1986 Glueck Glueck, 1950
  Maccoby Martin, 1983, 1990 Phares Compas,
  1992)
• Marital conflict and divorce between parents
  (Emery, 1982 Gottman Katz, 1989 Grych
  Fincham, 1992 Hetherington, 1979 McCord,
  McCord, Thurber, 1962)
• Parent-child conflict (Montemayor, 1982)
• Physical or sexual abuse or maltreatment (George
  Main, 1979 Kinard, 1980 Reidy, 1977)

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Inter-individual Factors Related to Interpersonal
Relations

• Physical attractiveness (Cavoir
  Dokecki, 1973 Dion Berscheid, 1974 Kennedy,
  1990 Langlois Downs, 1979)
• Physical health (Lotyczewski, Cowen,
  Weissberg, 1986)
• Unusualness of the child's name (McDavid
  Farari, 1966)
• Ability to express humor (McGhee, 1980)
• Perceived social competence (Gresham Elliott,
  1989)

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Technical Quality

• Norms
• Reliability
• Internal Consistency
• Stability
• Validity
• Content Validity
• Developmental Validation
• Construct Validity
• Contrasted Groups Validity
• Independent Research Efforts

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Standardization Sample

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Standardization Sample
Sample Sample Sample
United States Characteristic Size
Percentage Percentage U.S.
Region Northeast 173
6.93 20.20 South 1310 52.50 35.00 Nor
th Central 563 22.57 23.90 West
449 17.99 20.90 Percentages are computed on
the number of cases coded, with missing data
omitted from calculations. Total sample size
2501 subjects.

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U.S. and CAIRFamily Constellations

• Family U.S. CAIR
• Type Population Sample
• Intact Family 65 57
• Foster Home 1 1
• Reconstituted 10 14
• Single-Parent 22 17
• CAIR Sample does not sum to 100 due to
  unreported data. Single-parent families may be
  due to never married, separation, divorce, or
  death of parent.

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CAIR Scale Internal Consistencyand Stability
.96
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CAIR Theoretical FoundationContent Validity
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CAIR Theoretical Model
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Developmental Validation Students
Relationshipswith their Parents

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Developmental Validation Students
Relationshipswith their Peers
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Developmental Validation Students
Relationshipswith their Teachers
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Female Students Relationships by Race

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Male Students Relationships by Race

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Construct ValidityFactor Analysis
Factor One Father Scale
Factor Three Mother Scale
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Construct ValidityFactor Analysis

Factor Four Male Peers Scale
Factor Five Female Peers Scale
Two Items with Primary (non-significant)
Loadings on Teachers Scale
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Construct ValidityFactor Analysis
Factor Two Teachers Scale
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CAIR Multidimensional Self-Concept Correlations
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CAIR CAT-C Parent-Completed Correlations
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CAIR CAT- C Child-CompletedCorrelations
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CAIR CAD Correlations
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CAIR CAB Scale Correlations
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CAIR CAB Externalizing Correlations
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Summary of Independent CAIR Research

• Clinic Samples
• Poorer relations on all scales diminished
  self-concepts
• Runaways
• Poorer Mother, Father, Teacher relations
  exaggerated opposite-sex Peer relations
• Delinquents
• Poorer Mother relations 81.5 classification
  rate 88.4 non-delinquent classification rate
• Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual Adolescents
• Poorer Mother, Father, Male and Female Peer
  relations
• Parenting Style
• Students with Authoritative Mothers reported
  better Mother relations than students with
  Authoritarian or Permissive Mothers

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• Interpreting the CAIR

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Clinical Interpretation

• Quantitative and Qualitative Interpretation
  Process
• 5-Step Interpretation Process
• Consider CAIR total scale score (i.e., Total
  Relationship Index)
• Consider CAIR scale scores individually and in
  combination
• Compare scale scores with data acquired from
  different sources (e.g., sociometry, CAB Social
  Skills)
• Explore 15 relationship characteristics
• Contrast students performance on the CAIR in
  light of other available information (e.g.,
  referral, background)

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CAIR Relationship Classifications

• CAIR Relationships are classified by descriptive
  categories related to degree of relationship
  strength or weakness
• gt 70 Significant Relationship Strength
• 60 to 69 Mild Relationship Strength
• 40 to 59 Normal Range
• 30 to 39 Mild Relationship Weakness
• lt 29 Significant Relationship Weakness

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Ipsative InterpretationDeviations from Average
Scale Score

• Scale p lt .05 p lt .01
• Mother 8 9
• Father 7 9
• Male Peers 8 10
• Female Peers 8 10
• Teacher 9 11

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Ipsative InterpretationExample

• CAIR Scale Mean Ipsative
• Scale Score d Classification
• Mother 69 10 Strength
• Father 53 -6 Weakness
• Male Peers 40 -19 Weakness
• Female Peers 62 3 Average
• Teacher 69 10 Strength
• Mean Score 59

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Calculation of Normative and Ipsative Profiles