Clinical Assessment of Interpersonal Relationships (CAIR)

Clinical Assessment of Interpersonal Relationships (CAIR)Bruce A. Bracken, PhD

• Purpose: Assess student perceptions of their relationships with their mother, father, male peers, female peers, and teachers
• Age Range: Adolescent, Child
• Adminstration: Individual
• Time: 15 minutes

The CAIR assists mental health professionals with the measurement of perceptions that youths between the ages of 9-19 years (i.e., Grades 5-12) have regarding the quality of their relationships with the most important individuals in three primary contexts (Social, Family, and Academic) of their lives–mother, father, male and female peers, and teachers.

The CAIR is a psychometrically sound instrument based on Dr. Bracken\’s multidimensional, context-dependent model of adjustment. It helps with the early identification and remediation of a youth\’s relationship difficulties and assists with the identification of Emotional Disturbance (ED) by assessing the quality of the youth\’s primary relationships.

The CAIR is composed of 35 items, all of which appear on each of five scales (i.e., Mother scale, Father scale, Male Peers scale, Female Peers scale, Teachers scale). All or a select number of scales may be administered. Additionally, the CAIR items reflect the 15 specific aspects of relationships that are commonly reported in the literature, thereby helping the clinician to identify the specific relationship qualities that may be deficient and that may require intervention.

Standardization, Reliability, and Validity

The CAIR normative sample was composed of 2,501 children enrolled in Grades 5-12 between the ages of 9-19 years. The CAIR was group administered to children of both genders and from all major racial/ethnic groups.

The instrument demonstrates exceptional technical adequacy, with reliabilities well above .90 for each of the five scales as well as the Total Relationship Index (TRI). For each grade level, the TRI coefficient alpha is .96, and the TRI coefficient for the entire standardization sample is .96. Each scale demonstrates internal consistency estimates that exceed .90, regardless of the child\’s age or gender. Each CAIR scale and the TRI is sufficiently reliable to contribute to important identification decisions.

CAIR Materials

The CAIR materials consist of the Professional Manual, the CAIR Rating Form, and the CAIR Score Summary/Profile Form. The CAIR Rating Form is hand scored to determine raw scores that can then be converted to T scores, percentile ranks, confidence intervals, and qualitative classifications.

CAIR Introductory Kit (includes CAIR Professional Manual, 25 Rating Forms, and 25 Score Summary/Profile Forms)