Family Images of the Adolescent: An Empirical Method for Clinical Assessment

A method is described for the assessment of family members' individual and collective images of the family's adolescent. The Q-Sort of Adolescent Images is a 36-item Q sort that assesses these images along 6 clinically salient, bipolar dimensions of adaptive and maladaptive functioning. It is administered to the adolescent and to both parents individually and then to all 3 together. Results reveal each individual's image of the adolescent (including self-image), the family's collective image of the adolescent, and levels of correspondence among the 4 images. Psychometric analyses from 2 studies, involving 116 families, show encouraging internal consistencies, intercluster correlational structure, and construct validity.