Network of Relationships Inventory Adapted from Furman & Burhmester, 1985

Transcription

1 Description of Measure Network of Relationships Inventory Adapted from Furman & Burhmester, 1985 Purpose The Networks of Relationship Inventory (NRI) was originally developed to examine a broad array of relationship characteristics across a number of different types of personal relationships, (Furman & Buhrmester, 1985 & Questionnaire Manual). There are three versions of the NRI: The NRI-Social Provisions Version (SPV), the NRI-Behavioral Systems Version, (BSV), and the NRI-Relationship Qualities Version (RQV). Conceptual Organization Across the three versions of this measure, up to 10 three item-subscales assess relationship characteristics such as companionship, conflict, instrumental aid, satisfaction, antagonism, intimacy, nurturance, affection, punishment, admiration, relative power, and reliable alliance for each type of relationship. Relationships across the three versions include mother, father, sibling, relative, boy/girlfriend, best friend of same sex and best friend of opposite sex. Additional relationships may also be included. The respondent is asked to rate each of the significant relationships on each of the items. The development of the original NRI was informed by Robert Weiss s (1974) and Harry Stack Sullivan s (1953) theory of social provisions and attachment (Furman & Burhmester, Questionnaire Manual). Please see references below for additional information on the conceptual organization of each of the three versions. Materials and Administration Paper and pencil forms may be interviewer administered. LONGSCAN utilized a computerassisted administration. Time Required 5-30 minutes depending upon the number of subscales utilized and relationships assessed. Training Training of face-to-face interviewers is moderate given the structured nature of the items. Scoring Subscale scores can be derived by taking the mean of each of the three items. The author recommends not calculating scores for any subscale missing more than one item. Social support and negative interchanges overall scores may also be calculated. For more information, please see the authors instructions for scoring (Furman & Buhrmester, Network of Relationships Questionnaire Manual) Score Interpretation Higher scores indicate higher rates of the dimension assessed. Scores range from 1-5.

2 Psychometric Support Reliability The authors report satisfactory internal consistency with Alphas of all scale scores for all relationships greater than.60 except for two instances (Furman & Buhrmester, Questionnaire Manual). Another study utilizing an abridged version of the NRI reported a mean Cronbach s Alpha of.81 for the abridged version (East, 1991). Validity East s 1991 study found that NRI scores corresponded to groupings used to identify peerwithdrawn, peer-aggressive and sociable children (East, 1991). LONGSCAN Use Rational Peer relationships are a critical aspect of adolescent development. The NRI is a widely-used, concise, theoretically based self report measure that permitted a computer-assisted administration. Peer relationships were the domain of interest and therefore LONGSCAN did not include assessment of non-peer relationships using the NRI. Administration and Scoring Notes LONGSCAN utilized slightly revised scales adapted from both the NRI- Social Provisions Version and the NRI-Relationship Qualities Version. LONGSCAN revised 1) the wording of the original introduction to focus it exclusively on peer relationships, 2) introductory items, including adding structured items to obtain peer ages and an item asking the sex of boy/girlfriend (primarily so that the computer could deliver sex-appropriate wording in subsequent items), and 3) some response sets. LONGSCAN focused exclusively on the following relationships: best friend of same sex; best friend of opposite sex (other than sibling or boy/girlfriend); and boy or girlfriend. LONGSCAN utilized a face-to-face, computer assisted administration. Data Points Ages 16 and 18 Mnemonic and Version Age 16: NRIA Age 18: NRIB Respondent Adolescent

3 Scoring Mean scores can be derived for each subscale (Companionship, Conflict, Satisfaction, and Intimacy) and for each relationship (best friend of same sex, best friend of opposite sex who is not a sibling or romantic partner, and boy or girlfriend). Each subscale has three items as outlined below. The authors recommend that subscales should be set to missing if there is more than one missing item per scale (Furman & Burhmester, Quesionnaire Manual). Scores range from 1-5, with higher scores indicating higher levels of the quality in that specific relationship. *Companionship: Items 4, 8, 12 *Conflict: Items 5, 9, 13 *Satisfaction: Items 6, 11, 14 * Intimacy: Items 7, 10, 15 Results Descriptive Statistics Table 1 describes the ages of best same-sex friends and length of time being friends for respondents to the Age 16 Interview. A majority of respondents (83%) reported that their best friend of the same sex was close to their own age (between 15 and 17); 86% had been friends with the individual for over a year. More than half (55%) went to the same school (data not presented here). Table 1. Descriptive Statistics for Best Same-Sex Friend How old is this person? How long have you been friends? < <= 1 mo 2-6 mos 7 mos to 1 yr 1 year + N % % % % % N % % % % Overall Male Female EA MW SO SW NW

4 Table 2 describes the ages and length of friendship for best friend of the opposite sex (other than boyfriend/girlfriend or sibling) for Age 16 Interview respondents. Overall, these friends were similar in age to LONGSCAN respondents, and had been friends for over a year (75%). More than half of the respondents (54%) went to the same school as their best friend of the opposite sex. Table 2. Descriptive Statistics for of Opposite Sex How old is this person? How long have you been friends? < <= 1 mo 2-6 mos 7 mos to 1 yr 1 year + N % % % % % N % % % % Overall Male Female EA MW SO SW NW Table 3 illustrates that forty seven percent (n = 356) of respondents reported having a boyfriend or girlfriend. Most of these were similar in age to the 16 year-old respondents (79%). 13.5% of girls reported that their boyfriends were older than they were. More than half (53%) reported that they have been boy/girlfriends with this person for over a year, and 62% reported that their boyfriend/ girlfriend went to a different school (data not presented here). Table 3. Descriptive Statistics for Boyfriends/s How old is your boyfriend/girlfriend? How long have you been friends? < <= 1 mo 2-6 mos 7 mos to 1 yr 1 year + N % % % % % N % % % % Overall Male Female EA MW SO SW NW

5 The final section of the version of the NRI used by LONGSCAN includes the four subscales (Companionship, Conflict, Satisfaction, and Intimacy) for each type of relationship (best same sex friend, best opposite sex friend who is not a sibling or boy/girlfriend, and boyfriend/ girlfriend). Higher scores indicate higher levels of the quality being assessed. Table 4 provides descriptive statistics for the Companionship mean scores by gender and study site. Higher companionship mean scores are seen for friends of the same sex (3.7) and boyfriends/girlfriends (3.8), when compared to friends of the opposite sex (2.9). Table 4. Age 16 NRI: Companionship Mean Scores Overall Male Female EA MW SO SW NW Table 5 provides descriptive statistics for the Conflict mean scores by gender and study site. Higher conflict mean scores are seen for boyfriend/girlfriends (2.5) when compared to friends of either sex ( ). Table 5. Age 16 NRI: Conflict Mean Scores Overall Male Female EA MW SO SW NW

6 Table 6 provides descriptive statistics for the Satisfaction mean scores by gender and study site. Respondents endorsed higher levels of satisfaction with friends of the same sex, followed by satisfaction with boyfriends/girlfriends (4.3), while the lowest level of satisfaction was in relationships with friends of the opposite sex (3.9). Table 6. Age 16 NRI: Satisfaction Mean Scores Overall Male Female EA MW SO SW NW Table 7 provides descriptive statistics for the Intimacy mean scores by gender and study site. Respondents rated relationships with boy or girlfriends as the most intimate (3.8), followed by best friends of the same sex (3.6). Relationships with best friends of the opposite sex were rated as the least intimate of the three relationship types (2.9). Table 7. Age 16 NRI: Intimacy Mean Scores Overall Male Female EA MW SO SW NW Publisher Information Contact the author: W. Furman, Relationship Center, Department of Psychology, University of Denver, Denver, Colorado Note: The authors of this manual wish to thank Kate B. Nooner, PhD, for her contributions to this entry.

7 References and Bibliography East, P.L. (1991). The parent-child relationships of withdrawn, aggressive and sociable children: Child and parent perspectives. Merrill-Palmer quarterly, 37 (3), Furman, W., & Buhrmester, D. Network of Relationship Questionnaire Manual. Unpublished manual available from the author. Furman, W. & Buhrmester, D. (1985). Children s perception of the personal relationships in their social networks. Developmental Psychology, 21 (6), Furman, W. & Buhrmester, D. (1992) Age and sex differences in perceptions of networks of personal relationships. Child Development, 63, Furman, W., & Buhrmester, D. (2009) The Network of Relationships Inventory: Behavioral Systems Version. International Journal of Behavioral Development, 33 (5),