MEASURE NAME:
Acronym:
Bell Relationship Inventory for Adolescents
BRIA
Basic Description
Author(s):
Author Contact:
Author Email:
Citation:
Bell, Morris D., Ph.D.
Morris D. Bell
VA Connecticut Healthcare System
Psychology Service, 116-B, Campbell Ave.
West Haven, CT, 06516
[email protected]
Bell, M.D. (2005) Bell Relationship Inventory for Adolescents
(BRIA) Manual. Los Angeles: Western Psychological Services.
To Obtain:
Western Psychological Services
12031 Wilshire Blvd.
Los Angeles, CA 90025-1251
Phone: 800-648-8857
Fax: 310-478-7838
E-mail:
[email protected].
Website:
http://www.wpspublish.com/Inetpub4/index.htm
Cost per copy (in US $): $1.34
Copyright:
Yes
Description:
The BRIA is an adapted version of the Bell Object Relations and
Reality Testing Inventory (BORRTI) that was developed for
adolescents aged 11 to 17 and assesses for psychological
disturbances and relationship problems. The BORRTI has been
widely used with adults and is reviewed in this database. The
BRIA contains only the Object Relations subscales (and not the
Reality Testing subscales) from the BORRTI.
It yields scores on 4 scales comparable to the BORRTI scores: 1)
Alienation, 2) Insecure attachment, 3) Egocentricity, and 4) Social
incompetence. It also yields a score on one additional scale
Positive Attachment, which reflects healthy object relations.
While both measures have validity scales, the BRIA has a
response bias scale in place of the three scales found on the
BORRTI. The measure can be administered to individuals or
groups.
Content from the BRIA copyright (c) 2005 by Western
Psychological Services. Reprinted for reference within the
NCTSN Measure Review Database by permission of the
publisher, WPS, 12031 Wilshire Boulevard, Los Angeles, CA
90025, www.wpspublish.com. All rights reserved.
Theoretical Orientation Psychoanalytic ego psychology (specifically object relations and
Summary:
reality testing).
Bell Relationship Inventory for Adolescents
NCTSN Measure Review Database
www.NCTSN.org
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Domains Assessed:
Languages Available:
1. Personal / interpersonal functioning (child)
2. Trauma-related alterations of expectancies/attitud
3. Validity (child)
4.
5.
6.
English
Age Range:
# of Items:
Time to Complete (min):
Time to Score (min):
Periodicity:
Response Format:
11.0 - 17.0
50
10
5
Not known
True/False
Materials Needed:
Yes
(check all that apply)
Material Notes:
Measure Type:
Measure Format:
Reporter:
Education Level:
General assessment
Questionnaire
Self
6.00
Paper and pencil
Testing stimuli
Computer
Physiological equipment
Video equipment
Other
Materials needed: 1) Manual, and 2) Form
Materials offered through WPS (as of 6/05):
1. Kit: $90.00 (Includes Autoscore Forms, Manual for the Bell
Object Relations and Reality Testing Inventory, Manual
Supplement for the BRIA.)
2. Autoscore forms (pkg/25): $33.50
3. Manual for the BORRTI: $48.50
4. Manual Supplement for the BRIA: $20
The forms include hand-scoring templates.
Measure has a Flesch Reading Ease score of 88.2% and a
Flesch-Kincaid Grade Level of 3.5. The authors state that these
scores suggest the BRIA is written in language that most children
in 6th grade and beyond should be able to understand.
Sample Items:
Domains
Scale
Response bias
Alienation
Insecure attachment
Egocentricity
Sample Items
(validity scale)
It is my fate to lead a lonely life.
I want to be so close with someone that we feel like one
person.
The best way to get others to do what I want is to trick
them into it.
I feel shy when I talk with a boy or girl I don't know.
Social incompetence
Positive attachment I am happy with the amount of affection in my life.
Notes (additional scales and domains):
Content from the BRIA copyright (c) 2005 by Western Psychological Services. Reprinted
Bell Relationship Inventory for Adolescents
NCTSN Measure Review Database
www.NCTSN.org
2
for reference within the NCTSN Measure Review Database by permission of the publisher,
WPS, 12031 Wilshire Boulevard, Los Angeles, CA 90025, www.wpspublish.com. All rights
reserved.
Information Provided: (check all that apply)
Diagnostic information DSM-III
Diagnostic information DSM-IV
Yes
Strengths
Yes
Areas of concerns/risks
Program evaluation information
Yes
Continuous assessment
Yes
Raw Scores
Yes
Yes
Yes
Yes
Yes
Standard Scores
Percentile
Graph (e.g., of elevated scale)
Dichotomous assessment
Clinical friendly output
Written feedback
Other
Training
Training to Administer:
(check all that apply)
Yes
Training to Interpret:
(check all that apply)
Training Notes:
Yes
None
Must be a psychologist
Via manual/video
Prior experience psych
testing & interpretation
Training by experienced
clinician (<4 hours)
Training by experienced
clinician (≥4 hours)
None
Must be a psychologist
Via manual/video
Training by experienced
clinician (<4 hours)
Yes
Prior experience psych
Training by experienced
testing & interpretation
clinician (≥4 hours)
Interpretation should be conducted by those with an "appropriate
background in personality assessment and a grasp of the
fundamentals of test construction, validity, reliability, and test
administration."
Parallel or Alternate Forms
Parallel Forms?
Alternate Forms:
Forms for Different Ages:
If so, are forms comparable:
Any Altered Versions of Measure:
Describe:
No
No
No
Yes
The Bell Object Relations and Reality Testing
Inventory (BORRTI) is the original version on which the
BRIA is based. It contains reality-testing subscales in
addition to the object relation scales found on the
BRIA. Object relation scale items are comparable
except that for the BRIA, three items were dropped and
others were added. The wording on most items was
simplified on the BRIA.
Population Used to Develop Measure
Sample: 815 children (59.9% girls and 46.1% boys), of which 705 were recruited from
public schools and 110 came from clinics and residential treatment centers.
The ethnic composition was as follows: 64.5% White, 19.4% Black/African American,
Bell Relationship Inventory for Adolescents
NCTSN Measure Review Database
www.NCTSN.org
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8.8% Hispanic, 3.1% Asian, and 4.2% Other. Average age was 14.4 (SD=1.9, Range 1117). Average grade in school was 8th grade (SD=1.94, Range=6-11).
Psychometrics
Global Rating (scale based on Hudall Stamm, 1996):
Basic properties established by author(s)
Norms:
Yes
For separate age groups:
No
For clinical populations:
No
Separate for men and women: No
For other demographic groups: No
Notes:
The 625 public school students who were part of the development sample
(see “Population Used to Develop Measure”) comprised the reference
sample used to develop standard scores. Only those with no missing items
were used. This group averaged 14.3 years of age (SD=1.85, Range=1119); 273 were boys (44%) and 348 were girls (56%). Ethnicity was 65%
White, 19% Black/African American, 7% Hispanic, 3% Asian, 4% Other, and
2% Missing.
One set of norms exists for boys and girls across all age groups and
ethnicities. The author examined differences and found some significant
differences for gender and age but reasoned that the effect sizes are small.
One ethnicity difference in the moderate-effect size range was found for
Hispanic youth compared to White youth, suggesting that further research
may be needed with this population to determine whether the difference
represents a true population difference.
Clinical Cutoffs:
Specify Cutoffs:
Used in Major Studies:
Specify Studies:
Yes
Response bias=2 SD above or below the average score T<30
or T>70; Positive attachment T<40, all other scales T>59.
No
Bell Relationship Inventory for Adolescents
NCTSN Measure Review Database
www.NCTSN.org
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Reliability:
Type:
Rating
Statistics
Min
Max
Avg
Test-Retest-# days:
Internal Consistency:
Acceptable
alpha
0.69
0.77
0.73
Inter-Rater:
Parallel/Alternate Forms: Questionnable Pearson r
0.43
0.83
Notes:
From Bell (2005)
For the development sample, internal consistencies were .76 for Positive attachment, .69
for alienation, .76 for insecure attachment, .69 for Egocentricity, and .77 for Social
incompetence.
There were 59 community college students, and they completed both the BRIA and
BORRTI. Correlations for comparable scales were as follows: Alienation = .59, p<.0001;
Insecure Attachment = .75, p<.0001; Egocentricity = .43, p<.0001; Social Incompetence =
.83, p<.0001.
As the author states, caution must be made when comparing an adolescent's score on
the egocentricity scale on the BRIA to that same score on the BORRTI. The egocentricity
and alienation scales on the two forms (BRIA and BORRTI) may not be parallel.
Content Validity:
The BRIA was developed by adapting items from the BORRTI Form O. Focus groups were
conducted with children in grades 6-9, leading to item revision. Items were changed to
simplify language and because focus group feedback suggested that children were
interpreting the items differently from how they were meant to be interpreted.
Sixteen new items were added to capture relationship experiences that are psychologically
meaningful to children, including aspects of their relationships with peers and parents.
Construct Validity: (check all that apply)
Validity Type
Not known Not found
Convergent/Concurrent
Nonclinical Clinical
Samples
Samples
Yes
Yes
Discriminant
Diverse
Samples
Yes
Sensitive to Change
Intervention Effects
Longitudinal/Maturation Effects
Sensitive to Theoretically
Distinct Groups
Yes
Yes
Factorial Validity
Yes
Yes
Notes:
From Bell (2005), Bell (2003)
Concurrent validity examined by correlating BRIA scale scores and scores from
the Personality Inventory for Youth and the Behavior Assessment System for
Children: Self-Report for Adolescents.
Examination of mean BRIA scores for different groups (residential psychiatric,
residential family treatment, outpatient, and non-clinical) showed significant
Bell Relationship Inventory for Adolescents
NCTSN Measure Review Database
www.NCTSN.org
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differences between these groups.
A factor analysis was conducted using the development sample, which included
clinical and non-clinical populations. Principal components analysis with an
oblique rotation yielded 5 factors, accounting for 16% of the variance. Four of
the factors were identical to those found for the adults’ responses on the
BORRTI Form O. Analyses examining stability of factor structure found good
congruence coefficients for all 5 factors.
Criterion Validity: (check all that apply)
Measures used as criterion:
Not known Not found
Predictive Validity:
Yes
Postdictive Validity:
Yes
Nonclinical Clinical
Samples
Samples
Diverse
Samples
Sensitivity Rate(s):
Specificity Rate(s):
Positive Predictive Power:
Negative Predictive Power:
Notes:
Limitations of Psychometrics and Other Comments Regarding Psychometrics:
1. While a factor analysis has been conducted, the variance accounted for by this factor
solution is low (16%).
2. Internal consistencies are acceptable, but this would be expected, given that they were
calculated using the same sample with which the factor structure was determined. In
addition, while acceptable, the internal consistencies are in the lower range of acceptable.
Additional work is needed to examine whether the internal consistencies are similar when
examined in other populations.
3. While the development and normative samples did include a reasonable percentage of
African-Americans (19%), it did not involve large samplings of other ethnic groups. More
research may be needed before applying the measure to other groups, especially given the
author's caution regarding using the BORRTI with respondents who are not fluent in English
because it contains idiomatic expressions that are not well understood by foreign-born
English speakers.
Consumer Satisfaction
No information available.
Bell Relationship Inventory for Adolescents
NCTSN Measure Review Database
www.NCTSN.org
6
Languages Other than English
Language:
Translation Quality (check all that apply)
1= Has been translated
2= Has been translated and back translated - translation appears good and valid.
3= Measure has been found to be reliable with this language group.
4= Psychometric properties overall appear to be good for this language group.
5= Factor structure is similar for this language group as it is for the development group.
6 = Norms are available for this language group.
7= Measure was developed for this language group.
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.
9.
10.
Use with Trauma Populations
Populations for which measure has demonstrated evidence of reliability and validity:
Physical abuse
Natural disaster
Terrorism
Sexual abuse
Accidents
Immigration related trauma
Neglect
Imprisonment
Kidnapping/hostage
Domestic Violence
Witness death
Traumatic loss (death)
Community violence
Assault
Other
Medical trauma
War/combat
Use with Diverse Populations
USE WITH DIVERSE POPULATIONS RATING SCALE
1. Measure is known (personal communication, conference presentation) to have been used with members of this group.
2=Studies in peer-reviewed journals have included members of this group who have completed the measure.
3=Measures have been found to be reliable with this group.
4=Psychometric properties well established with this group.
5=Norms are available for this group (or norms include a significant proportion of individuals from this group)
6=Measure was developed specifically for this group.
Population Type:
Degree of Usage: (check all that apply)
1
1. Developmental disability
2. Disabilities
3. Lower socio-economic status
4. Rural populations
5.
6.
Notes (including other diverse populations):
2
3
Bell Relationship Inventory for Adolescents
NCTSN Measure Review Database
www.NCTSN.org
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5
6
7
Pros and Cons/Qualitative Impression
Pros:
1. The measure is based on a widely used measure of adult relationship functioning.
Although that measure could be used with adolescents, the author chose to refine the
measure and to develop this version, with wording and norms that are more appropriate for
this population.
2. The measure taps potentially important therapeutic dimensions that may be especially
relevant when working with children exposed to trauma.
Cons:
1. The measure is relatively new and is not widely used.
2. While a factor analysis has been conducted, the variance accounted for by this factor
solution is low (16%).
3. Internal consistencies are acceptable, but this would be expected, given that they were
calculated using the same sample with which the factor structure was determined. In
addition, while acceptable, the internal consistencies are in the lower range of acceptable.
Additional work is needed to examine whether the internal consistencies are similar when
examined in other populations.
4. While the development and normative samples did include a reasonable percentage of
African-Americans (19%), it did not involve large samplings of other ethnic groups. More
research may be needed before applying the measure to other groups, especially given
the author's caution regarding using the BORRTI with respondents who are not fluent in
English because it contains idiomatic expressions that are not well understood by foreignborn English speakers.
Bell Relationship Inventory for Adolescents
NCTSN Measure Review Database
www.NCTSN.org
8
References
(Representative sampling of publications, presentations, psychometric references)
Published References:
The reference for the manual is:
Bell, M.D. (2005). Bell Relationship Inventory for Adolescent (BRIA) Manual. Western
Psychological Services, Los Angeles, CA.
A PsychInfo search (6/05) for "Bell Relationship Inventory for Adolescent Manual" or
"BRIA" anywhere revealed that that the measure has been referenced in 1 peer-reviewed
journal article.
1. Bell, M.D. (2003). Bell Object Relations Inventory for adolescents and children:
Reliability, validity, and factorial invariance. Journal of Personality Assessment, 80(1), 1925.
Unpublished References:
A PsychInfo search (6/05) for "Bell Relationship Inventory for Adolescent Manual" and
"BRIA" anywhere revealed that that the BDI has been referenced in 0 conferences and 0
dissertations.
Number of Published References:
1
(based on author provided information and a PsychInfo search, not including dissertations)
Number of Unpublished References:
0
(based on a PsychInfo search of unpublished doctoral dissertations)
Author Comments:
The author received the reviews and provided comments on the BORRTI but not the BRIA.
Citation for Review:
Chandra Ghosh Ippen, Ph.D.
Editor of Review:
Chandra Ghosh Ippen, Ph.D.
Last Updated:
6/2/2005
PDF Available:
yes
This project was funded by the
Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA),
U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS). The views, policies and opinions
expressed are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect those of SAMHSA or HHS.
Bell Relationship Inventory for Adolescents
NCTSN Measure Review Database
www.NCTSN.org
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