University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign

The development and validation of scales to assess realism of attitudes toward multiple role planning

Weitzman, Lauren Michele

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https://hdl.handle.net/2142/19814

Description

Title
The development and validation of scales to assess realism of attitudes toward multiple role planning
Author(s)
Weitzman, Lauren Michele
Issue Date
1992
Doctoral Committee Chair(s)
Fitzgerald, Louise F.
Department of Study
Education
Discipline
Education
Degree Granting Institution
University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
Degree Name
Ph.D.
Degree Level
Dissertation
Keyword(s)
  • Women's Studies
  • Education, Guidance and Counseling
  • Psychology, Industrial
  • Psychology, Psychometrics
  • Education, Vocational
Language
eng
Abstract
  • The recognition of the impact of current societal expectations for women to participate fully in both career and family roles prompted the development of an instrument to measure attitudes toward multiple role planning. This preliminary investigation into the construct multiple role realism, defined as a planful orientation characterized by the careful consideration of the interface between work and family roles, represents a rational-empirical approach to instrument development.
  • The reliability and validity of five scales that make up the Multiple Role Realism Inventory (MRRI) were investigated using a cross-sectional sample of 925 female high school, undergraduate, and graduate students. The five scales, Knowledge/Certainty, Commitment to Multiple Roles, Independence, Involvement, and Flexibility/Compromise, are the result of two phases of pilot investigations. All scales except Flexibility/Compromise demonstrate strong reliability. Internal consistency analyses for four scales show alpha coefficients to range from.79 (Commitment to Multiple Roles) to.84 (Involvement), with.68 for Flexibility/Compromise. Test-retest correlation coefficients for four scales range from.62 (Commitment to Multiple Roles) to.90 (Involvement), with.23 for Flexibility/Compromise.
  • Four validity analyses were conducted to test theoretical expectations about the construct multiple role realism and to further investigate the utility of the MRRI. First, examination of content validity using expert judges shows good agreement for rating item content, with less agreement for appropriate scale assignment. Second, confirmatory factor analyses provide evidence that a 4-factor structure fits the data best (GFI =.95). Third, a MANOVA analysis (F (10,1836) = 8.99, $p<.001)$ shows a significant difference between three developmental groups (high school, undergraduate, and graduate) for scale scores. Finally, a Hotelling's T-squared analysis (F (5,595) = 3.41, $p<.01)$ shows a significant difference for scale scores when the sample was categorized into realistic or unrealistic work/family plans. These results suggest that the MRRI holds promise for better understanding the interface between career and family roles, an essential component of the investigation of women's career development.
Type of Resource
text
Permalink
http://hdl.handle.net/2142/19814
Copyright and License Information
Copyright 1992 Weitzman, Lauren Michele

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