People in My Life

Abstract: The People in My Life measure utilized in Fast Track is a 30-item self-report instrument designed to measure attachment to parents and peers in middle childhood. It was derived from a longer, 76 item instrument (by the same name) developed by Cook, Greenberg, and Kusche (1995). People in My Life was included in the child instrument battery in study years 5 & 6. The abbreviated version of People in My Life utilized by Fast Track contains only 30 of the measures' original items. All of the items pertaining to school and neighborhood have been eliminated as have several items pertaining to parent and peer relationships. Given the substantial changes this measure has undergone since its inception, exploratory factor analyses (using Harris-Keiser rotation) were conducted. Results reveal four eigenvalues greater than 1.0. Examination of the three and four factor solutions suggests that the three-factor solution minimizes dual loadings and provides the best conceptual fit to the data. These three factors and their corresponding items are listed below:

  • Positive representation of parents-RP1, RP2, RP3, RP4, RP5, RP6, RP7, RP8, RP9, RP15;
  • Positive representation of peers-RF1, RF2, RF3, RF4, RF5, RF6, RF7, RF8, RF9, RF15;
  • Negative representation of parents & peers-RP10, RP11, RP12, RP13, RP14, RF10, RF11, RF12, RF13, RF14
For most research purposes, scoring recommendations are to use the three scaled scores described above. Two additional scoring variations may be considered to answer certain research questions. First, research on the original version of People in My Life suggests that two broad band scales reflecting attachment to parent and attachment to peers (including items p1-p15 and f1-f15, respectively, with negatively toned items reversed scored) may be acceptable. These scaled scores are included in the SAS scoring program (pmlXpatt and pmlXfatt, respectively) and information regarding their internal consistency and sample differences can be found in Appendix A. Additionally, a four factor model in which the positive representation of parents is further broken down into two subscales (positive communication, p5-p8, and acceptance, p1-p4, p9, p12, & p15) also provides an acceptable fit to the data.

Who Completed this Measure?: select one

Cohort 1 - Administrative History

  • Year 05 | grade 4 | age 10
  • Year 06 | grade 5 | age 11

Cohort 2 - Administrative History

  • Year 05 | grade 4 | age 10
  • Year 06 | grade 5 | age 11

Cohort 3 - Administrative History

  • Year 05 | grade 4 | age 10
  • Year 06 | grade 5 | age 11

Technical Reports:

Raw Dataset Name: CyR

Scored Dataset Name: PMLySCc

Keywords:
Communication, Family Interaction, Friendship, Home Environment, Parent Child Relationship, Peer Relationship

Is this Measure Available for Public Use?: Yes

Obtain Measure:
Download the measure here

SAS Code for Scale Creation:
Download the code here

Measure Items and Scales:

COHORT Cohort
SITECODE Actual Code Number on Form
TCID Study ID Number
INTID Interviewer ID Number
C6RA I like to eat ice cream
C6RB I like to wash dishes
C6RP1 My parents listen to me
C6RP2 My parents accept me
C6RP3 My parents care about me
C6RP4 I can count on my parents
C6RP5 My parents know when I am upset
C6RP6 I talk to my parents about problems
C6RP7 My parents ask if smthng bothers me
C6RP8 I share thoughts/feelings w/parents
C6RP9 My parents pay attention to me
C6RP10 My parents don't understand me
C6RP11 I get upset easily w/my parents
C6RP12 I feel angry w/my parents
C6RP13 Hard to talk to my parents
C6RP14 I feel scared at home
C6RP15 My parents are proud of me
C6RF1 My friends listen to me
C6RF2 My friends accept me
C6RF3 My friends care about me
C6RF4 I can count on my friends
C6RF5 My friends know when I am upset
C6RF6 I talk to my friends about problems
C6RF7 My friends ask if smthng bothers me
C6RF8 I share thoughts/feelings w/friends
C6RF9 My friends pay attention to me
C6RF10 My friends don't understand me
C6RF11 I get upset easily w/my friends
C6RF12 I feel angry w/my friends
C6RF13 I feel scared w/my friends
C6RF14 Hard to talk to my friends
C6RF15 My friends are proud of me
SITE Site
C6RP10R parents don't understand, recoded
C6RP11R upset with parents, recoded
C6RP12R angry with parents, recoded
C6RP13R hard to talk to parents, recoded
C6RP14R scared in my home, recoded
C6RF10R friends don't understand, recoded
C6RF11R upset with friends, recoded
C6RF12R angry with friends, recoded
C6RF13R scared with my friends, recoded
C6RF14R hard to talk to friends, recoded
PML6PATT Quality of attachment to parent
PML6FATT Quality of attachment to friends
PML6POSP positive representations of parents
PML6POSF positive representations of friends
PML6NEGO negative representations of significant others