Parent Report on Child’s Close Friends

Abstract

The Parent Report on Child’s Close Friends is a brief, 10-item psychological scale developed by the Conduct Problems Prevention Research Group (CPPRG) in 1990. This instrument is designed to assess parental perceptions of their child’s peer group quality, specifically focusing on indicators of peer deviance and involvement in antisocial behaviors. Parents report on the characteristics of their child’s closest friends—the first best friend, the second best friend, and the general peer group—regarding involvement in trouble with authorities, parental disapproval, and the parent’s level of concern about negative influence. The scale is a key component of data collection for longitudinal studies, such as the Fast Track Project, aimed at understanding the development of conduct problems in youth.

Keywords

Parent report, peer influence, peer deviance, antisocial behavior, conduct problems, adolescent friendships, longitudinal study, CPPRG.

Authors

Conduct Problems Prevention Research Group (CPPRG), Pamela K. Ahrens (Contact).

Purpose

The primary purpose of the Parent Report on Child’s Close Friends scale is to quantify the extent to which a child’s social network exhibits characteristics associated with high-risk behavior and deviance. By utilizing the parent as the informant, the scale captures a crucial external perspective on the child’s social environment that may not be available through self-report measures.

This assessment is vital for researchers studying the etiology and prevention of conduct problems, as negative peer influence is a significant predictor of escalating antisocial behavior during middle childhood and adolescence. The instrument allows for the calculation of composite scores reflecting generalized parental concern regarding the child’s peer relationships.

Construct

The scale measures the construct of Perceived Peer Deviance and Negative Peer Influence, as reported by the parent. This construct encompasses several dimensions related to the quality and risk level of the child’s peer group. The items specifically target three core areas: 1) interaction with authority figures (e.g., police or teachers), 2) general behaviors that elicit parental disapproval, and 3) the parent’s subjective concern regarding the negative impact of these friends on the child.

The structure of the instrument ensures that information is gathered systematically across the child’s most significant social ties, moving from the two closest friends to the broader peer group, thereby providing a comprehensive measure of exposure to deviant peers.

Validity

While specific detailed validity studies (e.g., convergent or discriminant validity coefficients) are not provided in the source excerpt, the scale’s use within major, well-established longitudinal studies, such as the Fast Track Project, suggests robust construct validity within the context of developmental psychopathology research. The items demonstrate clear face validity, directly addressing behaviors associated with delinquency and risk exposure, which are highly relevant to the measurement of environmental risk factors.

Reliability

The reliability of the Parent Report on Child’s Close Friends is typically assessed using Cronbach’s alpha, which measures internal consistency. The source content provides reliability estimates differentiated between “High Risk” and “Normative” samples, indicating the scale’s stability across different population subgroups.

The calculated alpha values for the derived subscales demonstrate acceptable to strong internal consistency, particularly for the overall measure of parental concern:

• Trouble with adults: High risk .58, Normative .67
• Parental disapproval of friends: High risk .69, Normative .65
• Parental concern over negative influence of friends: High risk .68, Normative .68
• Total parental concern (Composite Score): High risk .87, Normative .88

Factor Analysis

The reliability data provided suggests that the 10 items can be aggregated into a comprehensive measure of Total Parental Concern (demonstrating high internal consistency, alpha > .87). Furthermore, the delineation of reliability scores for three distinct components—Trouble with adults, Parental disapproval, and Parental concern over influence—implies a factor structure where these thematic groupings represent specific facets of the peer environment assessed by the instrument.

Although an explicit factor loading matrix is not detailed, the organization of the items and the reliability scores support a model where the scale measures several correlated dimensions of peer deviance, which combine effectively into a single, highly reliable index of overall risk exposure.

Instrument

Test Type: Screening or Risk Assessment Scale (Parent-reported)

Format: 10 self-report items completed by the parent.

Language Available: English (Original), potentially others based on usage in international studies (e.g., the reference in the Latino Families compendium).

Population Group: Parents of children/youth.

Age Group: Typically utilized for parents reporting on children in middle childhood through adolescence, corresponding to the developmental window where peer influence becomes critical.

Population Details: Used extensively in both high-risk and normative samples, particularly within large-scale prevention trials like the Fast Track Project.

Test Methodology: Parents are instructed to recall and rate the behavior and characteristics of their child’s most frequent associates (best friends 1 and 2, and general peer group). Scoring requires specific computational methods, often utilizing the dedicated SAS scoring program available via the study’s official website.

Keywords

Peer relationships, socialization, parental monitoring, risk factors, developmental psychopathology, Conduct Problems Prevention Research Group, parent-child relationship.

Authors

Author ORCID Identifier: N/A (Not provided in source material)

Affiliation Email addresses: Contact: Pamela K. Ahrens (Specific email address not provided in source material)

Correspondence Address: Conduct Problems Prevention Research Group (CPPRG), associated with the Fast Track Project.

Permissions & Fee and Test Year

The scale was developed in 1990 by the Conduct Problems Prevention Research Group (CPPRG). It is generally available for use by researchers, particularly those affiliated with the Fast Track Project or similar prevention studies. Users are typically directed to the Fast Track website for instrument access and scoring programs. No explicit fee structure is mentioned, suggesting it may be freely available for academic research purposes, but contact with Pamela K. Ahrens or the CPPRG is recommended for formal permissions.

Reference’s

Conduct Problems Prevention Research Group (CPPRG). (1990). Parent Report on Child’s Close Friends [On-line]. Available: http://www.fasttrackproject.org [Contact: Pamela K. Ahrens].

This instrument can also be found on pages 93-94 of Latino Families and Youth: A Compendium of Assessment Tools, available online at: http://www.paho.org/hq/index.php?option=com_docman&task=doc_view&gid=23171&Itemid=

The original PDF resource containing the binder of measurement tools can be downloaded here: http://www.codajic.org/sites/www.codajic.org/files/Binder-orpinas%20meassurement.pdf

Items of the Parent Report on Child’s Close Friends

IMPORTANT: The following scale items must be preserved in their original language and must not be changed in any way.

We would like you to think about the friends your child spent the most time with last year.

Think about your son’s/daughter’s first best friend.

1. Does this friend get into trouble with teachers, the police, or other adults?
2. Does this friend do things you disapprove of?
3. Are you concerned about the negative influence this friend has on your child?

Now, think about the second best friend and answer the same questions.

4. Does this friend get into trouble with teachers, the police, or other adults?
5. Does this friend do things you disapprove of?
6. Are you concerned about the negative influence this friend has on your child?

Now, think about the other friends your child hangs around with and answer the same questions.

7. Do these friends get into trouble with teachers, the police, or other adults?
8. Do these friends do things you disapprove of?
9. Are you concerned about the negative influence these friends have on your child?

10. How much does your son/daughter hang around with kids who get into trouble?

Scoring Instructions:

Response categories for items 1-9:

1. 1 = Very much
2. 2 = Somewhat
3. 3 = A little
4. 4 = Not at all

Response categories for item 10:

1. 1 = Never
2. 2 = Almost never
3. 3 = Some
4. 4 = Frequently
5. 5 = All the time

Users should utilize the SAS scoring program available on the Fast Track Project website for standardized calculation of subscale and total scores.