The development of a parenting role-play test is presented. The article briefly discusses the ad
vantages of role-play tests over interviews, checklists, and direct observations. Item develop
ment followed an empirically driven model suggested by Goldfried and D'Zurilla. The final par
enting role-play test contained six common, yet difficult, parent-child situations. Judges used a
scoring manual to rate parent's responses. The results indicated that the parenting role-play test
could be scored with adequate reliability. Although the preliminary data gave indications of the
role-play test's validity, further validation research is suggested. The application of the role-play
test to social work practice is discussed.
Get full access to this article
View all access options for this article.
References
1.
De Armas, A., & Brigham, T.A. (1986). Moderated role play validity: Do some subjects role play more naturally than others? Behavioral Assessment , 8, 341-347.
2.
Deffenbacher, J.L., Story, D.A., Stark, R.S., Hogg, J.A., & Brandon, A.D. (1987). Cognitive-relaxation and social skills interventions in the treatment of general anger. Journal of Counseling Psychology , 34, 171-176.
3.
Edleson, J.L., Ordman, A., & Rose, S.D. ( 1983). Assessing children's social skills: The development and failure to validate a behavioral role play test. Journal of Social Service Research, 6,47-61.
4.
Forehand, R., & McMahon, R. (1981). Helping the noncompliant child: A clinician's guide to parent training. New York: Guilford.
5.
Frish, M.B., & Higgins, R.L. (1986). Instructional demand effects and the correspondence among role-play, self-report, and naturalistic measures of social skill. Behavioral Assessment, 8, 221-236.
6.
Goldfried, M.R., & D'Zurilla, T.J. (1969). A behavioral analytic model for assessing competence. In C. D. Spielberger (Ed.), Current topics in clinical and community psychiatry : Vol. 1. (pp. 151-196). New York: Academic Press.
7.
Gresham, F.M. (1986). Conceptual and definitional issues in the assessment of children's social skills: Implications for classification and training . Journal of Clinical Child Psychology, 15, 3-15.
8.
Herbert, J.D., Bellack, A.S., & Hope, D.A. (1994). Concurrent validity of the social phobia and anxiety inventory. Journal of Psychopathology and Behavioral Assessment , 13, 357-368.
9.
Kadushin, A. (1990) The social work interview: A guide for human service professionals (3rd ed.). New York: Columbia University Press.
10.
Kern, J.M. (1994). Detection of faking on role play tests of assertiveness . Psychological Reports, 74, 367-370.
11.
Lawis, G.F., & Lu, E. (1972). Judgment of counseling process: Reliability, agreement, and error. Psychological Bulletin, 78, 17-20.
12.
Magen, R.H., & Rose, S.D. (1994). Parents in groups: Problem solving versus behavioral skill training. Research on Social Work Practice, 4, 172-191.
13.
Manti, P.M., Rosenow, D.J., Abrams, D.B., & Zwick, W.R. (1993). Development of a behavior analytically derived alcohol specific role-play assessment instrument. Journal of Studies on Alcohol, 54, 710-721.
14.
McFall, R.M. (1977). Analogue methods in behavioral assessment: Issues and prospects. In J. D. Cone & R. P. Hawkins (Eds.), Behavioral assessment: New directions in clinical psychology (pp. 152-177) New York: Brunner/Mazel .
15.
Merluzzi, T.V., & Biever, J. (1987). Role-playing procedures for the behavioral assessment of social skill: A validity study. Behavioral Assessment, 9, 361-377.
16.
Nay, W.R. (1986). Analogue measures. In A. R. Ciminero, K. S. Calhoun, & H. E. Adams (Eds.), Handbook of behavioral assessment (2nd ed., pp. 223-252). New York: John Wiley.
17.
Patterson, G.R., Reid, J.B., Jones, R.R., & Conger, R.E. (1975). A social learning approach to family intervention : Vol. 1. Eugene, OR: Castalia.
Tinsley, H.E.A., & Weiss, D.J. (1975). Interrater reliability and agreement of subjective judgements. Journal of Counseling Psychology, 22, 358-376.
20.
Valenti-Hein, D.C., Yarnold, P.R., & Mueser, K.T. (1994). Evaluation of the dating skills program for improving heterosexual interactions in people with mental retardation. Behavior Modification, 18, 32-46.
