Parent’s Report (PA)

Abstract

The Parent’s Report (PA) is a psychological scale developed by Dibble and Cohen (1974) to comprehensively assess parental practices and perceptions of their child’s behavior and competence. This instrument is unique as it captures both the parent’s actual behavior (How I really act) and their normative expectations (How the ideal parent would be) across several crucial dimensions of parenting style. It is widely utilized in research concerning family dynamics, child development, and clinical psychology to understand the quality of the parent-child relationship and the specific behavioral characteristics of the child.

Keywords

Parent’s Report, PA, Parenting Style, Child Competence, Parental Control, Child-Centeredness, Respect for Autonomy, Detachment, Family Dynamics, Psychological Measurement.

Authors

Dibble, E., Cohen, D. J., Grawe, J. M.

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Purpose

The primary purpose of the Parent’s Report (PA) is to provide a detailed, quantitative measure of specific behaviors and attitudes exhibited by parents towards their children. The scale aims to differentiate between various established dimensions of parenting style, allowing researchers and clinicians to identify patterns such as over-control, nurturing engagement, or emotional distance.

A distinctive feature is the dual response format required for the initial items, enabling a crucial comparison between the parent’s perceived actual behavior and their internalized standard of ideal parenting. This discrepancy analysis can be instrumental for therapeutic intervention and research on parental self-efficacy and satisfaction, offering insights into the gap between parental aspiration and reality.

Construct

The Parent’s Report measures the broad psychological construct of parental style and the corresponding perception of child competence. The scale operationalizes parental style through five distinct sub-constructs, reflecting a nuanced view of the parent-child interaction rather than a single global score.

These sub-constructs cover behavioral aspects ranging from parental warmth and responsiveness to limit-setting and emotional availability. Furthermore, a significant portion of the instrument (items 24–56) focuses on the parent’s observation of the child’s temperament, social engagement, affect, and overall developmental competence.

Validity

Specific details regarding the initial development and comprehensive psychometric validation (e.g., criterion or construct validity coefficients) were not explicitly provided in the source excerpt. However, the scale’s inclusion in authoritative sources like “Measures for Clinical Practice and Research” suggests established use and implicit construct validity within the field of child psychology.

The structure, defined by five clear factors (Respect for Autonomy, Control, Consistency, Child-Centeredness, and Detachment), provides strong face validity. Subsequent studies, such as those cited by Cohen and Finzi-Dottan (2005), have utilized the PA to examine complex relationships between parental style and outcomes in contexts like divorce, confirming its utility in measuring theoretically relevant dimensions of family relationships.

Reliability

Detailed information concerning internal consistency (e.g., Cronbach’s alpha) or test-retest reliability for the Parent’s Report was not included in the source material. Given its structure as a multi-dimensional scale, reliability would typically be assessed for each of the five subscales independently.

In clinical and research applications, the scale is presumed to demonstrate adequate reliability, particularly regarding the stability of parental reports on established traits like control and responsiveness, which are known to be relatively stable aspects of parenting style over time. Further investigation into the psychometric properties across diverse populations may be required for specific research applications.

Factor Analysis

The scale is structured around five empirically derived factors, or subscales, which measure different facets of parental behavior and attitude. This robust factor structure ensures comprehensive coverage of the parental role, moving beyond simple authoritarian versus permissive classifications. The child competence items (24-56) also represent underlying factors related to temperament and social functioning, although the specific structure for these items is often analyzed separately.

The identified parental style factors and their item counts are:

• Respect for Autonomy (11 items): Focuses on accepting the child’s decisions and allowing independent choices (e.g., “I accept a decision even if it is not the way I think”).
• Control (8 items): Measures the degree to which a parent asserts authority and dictates behavior (e.g., “I speak in a strong way in order to teach my child how to behave”).
• Consistency (9 items): Relates to the predictability and clarity of parental rules and expectations (e.g., “I make clear rules for him to follow”).
• Child-Centeredness (12 items): Captures parental warmth, responsiveness, and consideration of the child’s needs (e.g., “I consider my child’s needs and interests when making my own plans”).
• Detachment (8 items): Assesses emotional withdrawal or punitive avoidance when the child displeases the parent (e.g., “I avoid talking to him after he displeases me”).

Instrument

Test Type: Self-Report Inventory (Parental Behavior and Child Competence).

Format: 56 items in total, utilizing a 7-point Likert scale. Items 1-23 require a dual response (Actual behavior vs. Ideal behavior), and items 24-56 require a single response regarding child behavior.

Language Available: Primarily English (as documented in the source literature).

Population Group: Parents (Mothers and Fathers) reporting on their children.

Age Group: Typically used for parents reporting on children in early childhood and latency ages, based on the developmental relevance of the child competence items.

Population Details: Has been utilized in studies involving general populations, clinical samples, and specific cohorts such as parents of twins and mothers of children with Down Syndrome.

Test Methodology: Respondents rate the frequency of behaviors on a scale from 0 to 6. The scoring options are: 0= Never, 1 = Almost never, 2= seldom, 3= Half the time, 4= Frequently, 5= Almost always, 6= Always. Items 1-23 are scored twice: for “How I really act” and “How the ideal parent would be.”

Keywords

Parent-Child Relationship, Parental Perception, Child Development, Clinical Practice Measures, Family Therapy, Dibble and Cohen, Psychometrics, Ideal Parent.

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Authors

Author ORCID Identifier: Not explicitly provided in source material.

Affiliation Email addresses: Not explicitly provided in source material.

Correspondence Address: Not explicitly provided in source material.

Permissions & Fee and Test Year

The Parent’s Report (PA) was initially introduced and published in 1974 by Dibble and Cohen. Information regarding current copyright permissions or associated fees for clinical or commercial use is not detailed in the source material, though the scale is referenced in major clinical sourcebooks (Fischer & Corcoran, 2007).

Test Year: 1974.

Reference’s

The following references document the development, structure, and application of the Parent’s Report (PA) scale:

• Cohen, D. J., Dibble. E., Grawe, J.M. (1977). Parental style. Mothers’ and fathers’ and perceptions of their relations with twin children. Archives of General Psychiatry, 34(4):445-451.
• Cohen, Orna., Finzi-Dottan, Ricky. (2005). Parent-Child Relationships During the Divorce Process: From attachment theory and intergenerational perspective. Contemporary Family Therapy 27(1), 81-98.
• Dibble. E., Cohen, D. J., (1974). Companion Instruments for Measuring Children’s Competence and Parental Style. Archives of General Psychiatry, 30(6):805-815.
• Dibble and Cohen (1974). Parent’s Report (PA). Fischer, Joel., Corcoran, Kevin J. (2007 ). Measures for Clinical Practice and research: A sourcebook. (4th ed.). NY. Oxford University Pr. Vol. 1, Page (s): 378-384.
• Gilmore, Linda & Cuskelly, Monica. (2012). Parenting satisfaction and self-efficacy : a longitudinal study of mothers of children with Down Syndrome. Journal of Family Studies, 18(1), 28-35.

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Items of the Parent’s Report (PA)

IMPORTANT: The following scale items must be preserved in their original language and must not be changed in any way.

1. I see both the child’s good points and his/her fault

2. I let him/her know that I feel hurt if he/she not does what he/she is told

3. I ask others what he/she does while he/she is away from me

4. I speak in strong way in order to teach him/her how to behave

5. I think of things that will please him/her

6. I forget things he/she has told me

7. I avoid talking to him/her after he/she displeases me.

8. I care about him/her‚ even when he/she does less well than I know he/she could.

9. I let him/her know that If he/she really cared he/she wouldn’t do things to cause me worry

10. I get angry about little things he/she does.

11. I lose my temper when he/she does not do as I ask.

12. I consider his/her needs and interests when making my own plans.

13. I am unaware of what he/she thinks or feels.

14. I withdraw from being with my child when he/she displeases me.

15. I like to hug and kiss him/her.

16. I let him/her dress as he/she wants

17. I can predict how he/she will respond or feel about something new

18. I accept a decision even if it’s not the way I think

19. I make clear rules for him/her to follow

20. I let him/her express his/her feeling about being punished or restricted

21. I change rules

22. I let myself be talked out of things

23. I tell him/her that I worry about how he/she will turn out because of his/her bad behavior

24. Fusses and cries when he/she must give up something he/she wants

25. Talks and acts happily and with excitement about things that Interest him/her

26. Tries to strike up friendships with other children by approaching them to play

27. Even a slight distraction will make him/her forget what he/she is doing

28. Happy to accept a toy or other object and is satisfied to keep it‚ look at it‚ and play with it

29. Does things vigorously. Likes to use his/her strength

30. Uninvolved when there are happy events‚ like trips‚ visits‚ new toys‚ treats‚ and parties

31. Makes a great effort to do something that is difficult for him/her by reaching‚ pulling‚ or dragging

32. Active‚ impossible to keep up with him/her

33. Pushes other children and adults in an unfriendly way

34. Can pay attention for a long time to something

35. Lies down‚ rests his/her head‚ or falls asleep instead of playing

36. Shies away from getting attention. Moves away from people

37. I afraid to go near novel and strange things or moving toys‚ noisy toys‚ or balloons

38. Is cheerful‚ smiles and laughs a lot

39. Carries on and won’t cooperate with routine activities such as washing. eating‚ or going to bed

40. Watches and follows what you are doing when shown how a toy works‚ how it moves‚ or makes sounds

41. Tries to please others

42. Bites‚ hits‚ kicks‚ and tries to hurt you

43. Gives long attention to objects‚ toys‚ or books that interest him/her

44. Seems to have little zest for normal activities‚ Acts tired

45. Would rather be left alone if you try to play with him/her or talk to him/her

46. Is afraid to go close to or touch insects‚ dogs‚ cat‚ or other animals

47. Seems to enjoy most of the things that he/she does

48. Will keep pushing you for something else when you give him/her a toy or something

49. Pays close attention when you show him/her something

50. Shows sympathy for others who are ha‎ving trouble or are sad

51. Is a talkative child who expresses himself/herself In language or near-language

52. Tends to be resistant and unfriendly

53. Sucks his/her thumb‚ twiddles his/her hair‚ or does something by habit

54. Enjoys being played with

55. Is unhappy being with people and being the center of attention

56. Likes to feel‚ smell‚ taste‚ pound‚ squeeze‚ or examine new things and toys