Measuring Dimensions of Family Interaction in Adolescence

Abstract. The aim of this study was to evaluate the convergent and discriminant validity of adolescent and parent ratings of family interaction. Adolescent and parent ratings of democratic parenting, parental warmth, and adolescent free disclosure were measured using a multitrait–multimethod confirmatory factor analytic approach. Participants included 3,959 Swedish youth in seventh grade (average age 13 years), with follow-up measurements in eighth and ninth grades. At each grade, findings provided support for trait discriminant validity and discriminant validity of methods. However, findings failed to provide support for convergent validity. Overall, the present findings suggest that measurement of family interactions should include the perspectives of both parents and adolescents because their perceptions of family interactions may represent different family interaction constructs.