Perceptual and Motor Skillr, 1990, 70, 858. O Perceptual and Motor Skills 1990
TEST-RETEST RELIABILITY OF THE CHILDREN OF ALCOHOLICS TEST ' BRYAN E . ROBINSON, PHYLLIS POST, WANDA WEBB, ELIZABETH JOY SMITH
Universily of North Carolina Although 28 m~Uionin the USA are children of alcoholics, little empirical research exists; however, several scales have been standardized. The Children of Alcoholics Screening Test is a popular means of identifying these children (3). A more detailed screening test, designed for adolescents, fosters early identification, referral, and intervention (1). DiCicco and associates (2) used a single item to idenuFy children of alcoholics in a rehabilitation program. The item is statisticallv a reliable and valid identifier of such children. The Children of Alcoholics Life-Events Schedule quantifies stressful experiences specific to the caretaking environment of alcohol-abusing families. Given the paucity of empirical data on children of alcoholics, many practitioners have little knowledge about the issues these children confront (4, 7). The Children of Alcoholics Test was designed as a measure of knowledge of issues these children face (5). The present assessment of test-retest reliability was based on responses of 79 college students. In two undergraduate education classes students completed the test on two occasions, separated by two weeks. Subjects checked "true" or "false" for each of 20 statements of myths about children of alcoholics. Statements being myths, all the answers are false. A score is the sum of the number of "false" responses. The higher the score the more knowledge a respondent has about children from alcoholic families. Scores from Times 1 and 2 were correlated .76, which suggests the inventory gives reasonably consistent information over two weeks. REFERENCES 1.
BEK, J. (1981) Screening test for identifying adolescents adversely affected by a parental
drinking problem. Journal of Adolescent Health Care, 2 , 107-113. 2. DrC~cco,L., DAVIS,R., & ORENSTEIN,A. (1984) Identifying the children of alcoholic parents from survey responses. Jozrrnal of Alcohol and Drtig Edzication, 30, 1-17. 3. JONES,J. W. (1983) The Children of Alcoholics Screening Test and test rnantral. Chicago, IL: Camelot Unlimited. B. E. (under review) Anxiety, self-concept, and knowl4. POST, P., WEBB,W., & ROBMSON, edge as a function of gender among adult children of alcoholics. Psychological Reports. 5 . ROBINSON, B. E. (1989) Working with children of alcoholics: the practitioner's handbook. Lexington, MA: Lexington Books. 6. R o o s ~ M. , W., SANDLER, I. N., GEHRING,M., B~ALs,(., &,Cwm,L. (1988) The Children of Alcoholics Life-events Schedule: a stress scale or ctuldren of alcohol-abusing parents. lournal of Studies on Alcohol, 49, 422-428. 7. WEBB,W., POST, P., & ROBINSON, B. (under review) Self-concept, anxiety, and knowledge exhibited by adult children of alcoholics and adult children of nonalcoholics. International ]ourno1 of Addictions.
Accepted May 1 1 , 1990
'Address correspondence to Department of Human Services, University of North Carolina, Charlotte, NC 28223.
TEST-RETEST RELIABILITY OF THE CHILDREN OF ALCOHOLICS TEST ' BRYAN E . ROBINSON, PHYLLIS POST, WANDA WEBB, ELIZABETH JOY SMITH
Universily of North Carolina Although 28 m~Uionin the USA are children of alcoholics, little empirical research exists; however, several scales have been standardized. The Children of Alcoholics Screening Test is a popular means of identifying these children (3). A more detailed screening test, designed for adolescents, fosters early identification, referral, and intervention (1). DiCicco and associates (2) used a single item to idenuFy children of alcoholics in a rehabilitation program. The item is statisticallv a reliable and valid identifier of such children. The Children of Alcoholics Life-Events Schedule quantifies stressful experiences specific to the caretaking environment of alcohol-abusing families. Given the paucity of empirical data on children of alcoholics, many practitioners have little knowledge about the issues these children confront (4, 7). The Children of Alcoholics Test was designed as a measure of knowledge of issues these children face (5). The present assessment of test-retest reliability was based on responses of 79 college students. In two undergraduate education classes students completed the test on two occasions, separated by two weeks. Subjects checked "true" or "false" for each of 20 statements of myths about children of alcoholics. Statements being myths, all the answers are false. A score is the sum of the number of "false" responses. The higher the score the more knowledge a respondent has about children from alcoholic families. Scores from Times 1 and 2 were correlated .76, which suggests the inventory gives reasonably consistent information over two weeks. REFERENCES 1.
BEK, J. (1981) Screening test for identifying adolescents adversely affected by a parental
drinking problem. Journal of Adolescent Health Care, 2 , 107-113. 2. DrC~cco,L., DAVIS,R., & ORENSTEIN,A. (1984) Identifying the children of alcoholic parents from survey responses. Jozrrnal of Alcohol and Drtig Edzication, 30, 1-17. 3. JONES,J. W. (1983) The Children of Alcoholics Screening Test and test rnantral. Chicago, IL: Camelot Unlimited. B. E. (under review) Anxiety, self-concept, and knowl4. POST, P., WEBB,W., & ROBMSON, edge as a function of gender among adult children of alcoholics. Psychological Reports. 5 . ROBINSON, B. E. (1989) Working with children of alcoholics: the practitioner's handbook. Lexington, MA: Lexington Books. 6. R o o s ~ M. , W., SANDLER, I. N., GEHRING,M., B~ALs,(., &,Cwm,L. (1988) The Children of Alcoholics Life-events Schedule: a stress scale or ctuldren of alcohol-abusing parents. lournal of Studies on Alcohol, 49, 422-428. 7. WEBB,W., POST, P., & ROBINSON, B. (under review) Self-concept, anxiety, and knowledge exhibited by adult children of alcoholics and adult children of nonalcoholics. International ]ourno1 of Addictions.
Accepted May 1 1 , 1990
'Address correspondence to Department of Human Services, University of North Carolina, Charlotte, NC 28223.
