The British Journal of Psychiatry 175: 565-570 (1999)
© 1999 The Royal College of Psychiatrists
Relationship with Family of Origin Scale (REFAMOS). Interrater reliability and associations with childhood experiences
J Hill, E Mackie, L Banner, H Kondryn and V Blair
Department of Psychiatry, University of Liverpool.
BACKGROUND: Family relationships in the transition from childhood to adult
life may be important mediators of risk and resilience for adult
psychopathology. AIMS: To develop a reliable and valid measure of the
quality of relationships with each parent in young adults. METHOD:
Interrater reliability of the Relationship with Family of Origin Scale
(REFAMOS) was assessed from audio-taped interviews with 59 subjects.
Age-related trends and associations with recalled childhood relationships
were examined in survivors of childhood cancer and their controls (n =
178). RESULTS: Intraclass correlation coefficients were in the range
0.69-0.95, and kappa values 0.80-0.82. Indices of current closeness to
mothers were negatively correlated with age of subject and positively
correlated with recalled maternal care in childhood. Negative qualities in
current relationships were correlated with recalled overprotection.
CONCLUSIONS: The REFAMOS has good interrater reliability, and shows the
predicted age-related trends in scores and associations with recalled
childhood relationships.