Abstract
This paper reports data on reliability and validity of the Role Functioning Scale (RFS) a measure of level of functioning of adults in four domains. Psychometric properties were tested on an inner city sample of 112 psychiatrically disturbed and well, predominantly African-American, low-income mothers of young children. The RFS has good interitem, test-retest, and interrater reliability. The four scales and global RFS Index discriminated accurately between well and disturbed subjects. The Global RFS Index was significantly correlated with self-esteem and degree of disturbance. Individual scales demonstrated predicted relationships with quality of childrearing and other independent behavioral indices. Results are discussed in terms of the unique information provided by the RFS and its potential contribution to treatment planning.
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Bradley, R.H. & Caldwell, B.M. (1978). Screening the environment.American Journal of Orthopsychiatry, 48, 114–129.
Elardo, R., Bradley, R.H., & Caldwell, B.M. (1977). A longitudinal study of the relation of infants' home environments to language development at age three.Child Development, 48, 595–603.
Endicott, J., Spitzer, R.L., Fleiss, J.S., & Cohen, J. (1976). The Global Assessment Scale: A procedure for measuring overall severity of psychiatric disturbance.Archives of General Psychiatry, 33, 766–771.
Green, R.S. & Gracely, E.J. (1987). Selecting a rating scale for evaluating services to the chronically mentally ill.Community Mental Health Journal, 23, 91–102.
Krowinski, W.J. & Fitt, D.X. (1980). Day treatments vs. brief hospitalization: A controlled study of clinical and cost effectiveness.American Journal of Community Psychology, 8, 173–189.
Luborsky, L. (1962) Clinician judgments of mental health: A proposed scale.Archives of General Psychiatry, 7, 407–412.
Luborsky, L. & Bachrach, H.M. (1974). Factors influencing clinician's judgments of mental health: Eighteen experiences with the Health-Sickness Rating Scale.Archives of General Psychiatry, 31, 292–299.
McPheeters, H.L. (1984). Statewide mental health outcome evaluation: A perspective of two southern states.Community Mental Health Journal, 20, 44–55.
Mintz, J., Luborsky, L., & Christoph, P. (1979). Measuring the outcomes of psychotherapy: Findings of the Penn Psychotherapy Project.Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology, 47, 319–334.
National Institute of Mental Health (1986). Series FN (No. 9),Assessing mental health treatment outcome measurement techniques, Ciarlo, J.A., Brown, T.R., Edwards, D.W., Kiresuk, T.J., & Newman, F.L. (DHHS Publication No. ADM 86-1301). Washington, DC: Superintendent of Documents, U.S. Government Printing Office.
Newman, F.L. (1980) Strengths, uses, and problems of global scales as an evaluation instrument.Evaluation and Program Planning, 3, 257–268.
Robinson, J.P. & Shaver, P.R. (1973).Measures of social psychological attitudes (rev. ed.). Ann Arbor: Institute of Social Research.
Rosenberg, M. & Pearlin, L.I. (1978). Social class and self-esteem among children and adults.American Journal of Sociology, 84, 53–75.
Silbert, E. & Tippett, J. (1965). Self-esteem: Clinical assessment and measurment validation.Psychological Reports, 16, 1017–1071.
Stribling, E. (personal communication, 1983).
Winer, B.J. (1971).Statistical principles in experimental design (2nd ed.). New York: McGraw Hill.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Additional information
Preparation of this article was supported in part by National Institute of Mental Health Grant #MH35042-02 to Sherryl Goodman.
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Goodman, S.H., Sewell, D.R., Cooley, E.L. et al. Assessing levels of adaptive functioning: The Role Functioning Scale. Community Ment Health J 29, 119–131 (1993). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00756338
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00756338