Background: Family relationships in the transition from childhood to adult life may be important mediators of risk and resilience for adult psychopathology.
Aims: To develop a reliable and valid measure of the quality of relationships with each parent in young adults.
Method: Interrater reliability of the Relationship with Family of Origin Scale (REFAMOS) was assessed from audio-taped interviews with 59 subjects. Age-related trends and associations with recalled childhood relationships were examined in survivors of childhood cancer and their controls (n = 178).
Results: Intraclass correlation coefficients were in the range 0.69-0.95, and kappa values 0.80-0.82. Indices of current closeness to mothers were negatively correlated with age of subject and positively correlated with recalled maternal care in childhood. Negative qualities in current relationships were correlated with recalled overprotection.
Conclusions: The REFAMOS has good interrater reliability, and shows the predicted age-related trends in scores and associations with recalled childhood relationships.