Date of Award

Fall 12-2012

Degree Type

Dissertation

Degree Name

Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)

Department

Psychology

Committee Chair

Sara Jordan

Committee Chair Department

Psychology

Committee Member 2

Bradley Dufrene

Committee Member 2 Department

Psychology

Committee Member 3

Tammy Barry

Committee Member 3 Department

Psychology

Committee Member 4

Randolph Arnau

Committee Member 4 Department

Psychology

Abstract

There has been a lack of empirical studies on the impact of child routines on adjustment. A series of instruments, the Child Routines Questionnaires (CRQ) and the Adolescent Routines Questionnaires, were developed to assess routines in childhood. Recently, a self-report version of the CRQ was developed for children aged eight to 12. Initial validity estimates of the CRQ were weak, which may have been a result of cross-informant variance stemming from parent and child reports. The primary purpose of this study is to reevaluate the factorial and construct validity of the self-report CRQ with use of a single informant. The 39-item Child Routines Question-Child Self Report was completed by 374 children ages eight to 12. Children also completed measures on family stability and child behaviors, and caregivers completed a demographic form and a child behavior questionnaire. Although lower than expected fit statistics were obtained with the Confirmatory Factor Analysis, Exploratory Factor Analysis reaffirmed the three-factor structure of the CRQ-CSR in the current study, with several items changing factors. Nonetheless, internal consistency was excellent and consistent with the measure development study, while validity coefficients were much stronger than those obtained during the measure development study. Due to the larger, more heterogeneous sample, the current CRQ-CSR factor structure obtained in this study is recommended for continued development and use of the measure.

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