The Development and Initial Validation of Scales to Assess Attitudes Toward Multiple Role Planning

Abstract

A 50-item instrument was developed to assess attitudes toward multiple role planning. Instrument development was prompted by current social expectations that women participate fully in both career and family roles and the desire to investigate how women anticipate such role involvement. The reliability and validity of the five Attitudes Toward Multiple Role Planning (ATMRP; Weitzman, 1992) scales were investigated using a cross-sectional sample of 925 female high school (n = 177), undergraduate (n = 394), and graduate (n = 354) students. Four of the five scales demonstrated strong reliability, and confirmatory factor analyses fit a four-factor model to the data (goodness-of-fit [GFI] = .94). Validity analyses confirmed hypothesized expectations of differences in multiple role planning among groups varying in proximity to multiple role involvement and by compatibility of work—family plans. The ATMRP scales can be used to supplement research that examines how women negotiate the career-family interface.