INTEROBSERVER AGREEMENT IN THE ASSESSMENT OF PARENTAL BEHAVIOR AND PARENT-ADOLESCENT CONFLICT - AFRICAN-AMERICAN MOTHERS, DAUGHTERS, AND INDEPENDENT OBSERVERS

Agreement between 57 African American mothers and their early adolesce nt daughters on measures of maternal support, maternal restrictive con trol, and parent-adolescent conflict were examined. To assess the rela tive validity of these reports, the study then evaluated them against the ratings of independent observers. Additionally, mother and daughte r reports were combined to examine validity coefficients based on aggr egate scores of each construct. All analyses were based on 2 sets of o bjective criterion ratings: ratings provided by coders of similar ethn ic background (African American) and coders who were ethnically dissim ilar (non-African American) to the families they rated. Overall, adole scents provided ratings that were more valid than those of their mothe rs when evaluated against both sets of independent ratings. Adolescent ratings of maternal control and parent-adolescent conflict converged at significantly higher levels than the ratings provided by their moth ers. Maternal and adolescent reports of maternal support converged wit h objective criteria at statistically comparable levels. Validity coef ficients for adolescent reports were also higher than those based on a ggregate mother-daughter scores. Secondary analyses further revealed t hat African American coders rated mothers as less controlling and rate d the dyadic interactions as less conflictual, and that their ratings were more consistent with the perceptions of the African American moth ers and adolescents than were those provided by non-African American c oders.