The mothers' activity checklist an instrument for assessing pleasant and unpleasant events
Kelley, M.L.; Carper, L.B.
Behavioral Assessment 10(4): 331-342
1988
ISSN/ISBN: 0191-5401 Document Number: 254080
Although the effects of setting events on family relationships have been discussed at a conceptual level, few researchers having evaluated the influence of these events on parent-child interactions using psychometrically sound instruments. The purpose of this paper is to present the development of an instrument measuring common pleasant and unpleasant events that may potentially affect mothers' interaction with their children. Study 1 consisted of three phases: (a) item generation , (b) item evaluation, and (c) validation, and resulted in a 100 item checklist titled the Mothers' Activities Checklist (MAC). Subjects who participated in the validation phase were mothers (N = 100) from low and middle income groups and from clinical and nonclinical populations. Clinical and nonclinical mothers differed significantly on both frequency of unpleasant events and valence of pleasant events. Study II (N = 100) examined the association between mothers' reported depression and the various MAC scores. Significant correlations were obtained between BDI and MAC scores. Clinical uses of the MAC are discussed.