Assessing Role Conflict and Role Ambiguity: A Cross Validation Study

Abstract

The Rizzo, House, and Lirtzman (1970) Role Questionnaire (RQ) was developed to assess a person's perceived level of role conflict and role ambiguity. Although the RQ has been shown to possess reliability and validity when used with some occupations, these properties of the instrument have not been examined for teachers. This study was concerned with the construct validity of the RQ when used with teachers. A principal components analysis with oblique rotation confirmed that the RQ measured the separate constructs of role conflict and role ambiguity. In addition, role conflict could be separated into two factors, Intrarole/intrasender and Interrole/intersender conflict. Cronbach coefficient alpha internal consistency estimates of the reliabilities of each scale were considered to be satisfactory and were observed to be similar to those reported for other occupations. Questions as to the underlying reasons for the independence of the role conflict and role ambiguity factors as well as suggestions for future research are presented.

Role Conflict in Community Corrections

“…Studies have consistently found the Role Conflict and Role Ambiguity Subscales to be a highly reliable (a ]/0.78 for both scales) and valid instrument (Rizzo et al , 1970;House et al , 1983;Rosenkrantz et al , 1983;Jackson and Schuler, 1985;Gonzalez-Roma and Lloret, 1989;Kelloway and Barling, 1990). Schwab et al (1983) found the Intra-Role Conflict Subscale and the Inter-Role Conflict Subscale to be highly reliable (a5/0.77 for both scales).…”

“…The scale required officers to indicate their level of agreement with statements along a five-point Likert scale (ranging from strongly disagree to strongly agree). Although the original Role Conflict Subscale consisted of eight items, these items were split on the basis of the criteria outlined by Schwab et al (1983). Thus, four items were used to assess inter-role conflict and four items were used to assess intra-role conflict with higher scores indicative of greater conflict.…”

“…Inter-role conflict entails a conflict where the individual perceives others as being responsible for the incompatibility, which might occur when an individual has to perform roles that require incompatible behaviour or when there are conflicting organisational expectations and demands (Schwab et al , 1983). In contrast, intra-role conflict entails a conflict where the individual perceives him/herself as being responsible for the incompatibility as occurs when officers have to violate personal values or standards or when officers perceive their role as being beyond their capabilities, time constraints, or available resources (Schwab et al , 1983). Additionally, the present study will examine role ambiguity which is the extent that an individual is uncertain about their duties, authority and allocation of time, as based on unclear guidelines, directives and policies.…”

Role stress and perceived intensity of burnout among reading specialists

“…Studies of the validity and reliability of this instrument for educators identified two separate factors which have an intercorrelation of -.32 (Schwab, Iwanicki, & Pierson, 1983). Factor I, which is labeled Role Conflict and which contains eight items, concerns the compatibility and congruency of the requirement of a role.…”

Role stress and perceived intensity of burnout among school psychologists

“…The alpha reliability coefficients for Role Conflict and Role Ambiguity are .86 and .85, respectively (Schwab, Iwanicki, & Pierson, 1983).…”