Scale of Praise Given by Primary Caregivers to Infants

Abstract

The Escala de Elogios Otorgados por Cuidadores Primarios a Infantes (Scale of Praise Given by Primary Caregivers to Infants, Mancini et al., 2023) is a 13-item Self-Report Instrument designed to quantify the frequency and variety of praise that primary caregivers direct toward infants aged 0 to 36 months. This measure addresses a gap in psychological assessment tools, specifically the noted absence of standardized self-report measures for assessing parental praise behaviors.

The initial development involved creating 17 items based on established literature (Gunderson et al., 2013; Kelley et al., 2000; Lucca et al., 2019) concerning three theoretical categories of praise: process, person, and product. Expert researchers subsequently validated these initial items. Data collection occurred online among primary caregivers in Argentina. An Exploratory Factor Analysis (EFA) confirmed a robust three-factor structure, resulting in the final 13-item scale. While the internal consistency was reported, the authors note that a confirmatory factor analysis and other extensive validity assessments were not yet conducted.

Keywords

Caregivers, Early Childhood Development, Family and Parenting Measures, Infants, Parent Child Communication, Parent Child Relations, Parenting Style, Positive Feedback, Praise, Praise of Person, Praise of Process, Praise of Product, Praise Self-Report, Primary Caregiver Praise, Types of Praise.

Authors

Mancini, Natalia A., Schetsche, Christian, Morales, Leandro J., Simaes, Ailín C., Gago Galvano, Lucas G.

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Purpose

The primary objective of this psychological instrument is to provide a standardized method for evaluating the specific types and frequencies of positive feedback, specifically praise, utilized by primary caregivers when interacting with infants and toddlers between the ages of 0 and 36 months.

By distinguishing between praise directed toward process (effort), person (trait), and product (outcome), the scale allows researchers to study how different communication styles influence early childhood development and parental behaviors.

Construct

The scale measures Parental Praise, which is operationalized into three distinct subtypes:

• Praise of Process: Focuses on effort, strategy, or persistence (e.g., “You tried so hard!”).

• Praise of Product: Focuses on the final outcome or result (e.g., “That drawing is perfect!”).

• Praise of Person: Focuses on inherent traits or ability (e.g., “You are so smart!”).

Validity

As of the initial publication of the scale (Mancini et al., 2023), comprehensive validity data were limited. The authors relied on expert validation during the item construction phase to establish initial content validity.

Formal assessments such as Confirmatory Factor Analysis (CFA), criterion validity, or convergent/discriminant validity studies were not reported in the primary source document. Researchers are encouraged to conduct further validation studies to establish the scale’s full psychometric profile.

Reliability

The reliability of the scale was assessed through the calculation of internal consistency using Cronbach’s alpha coefficients for each of the three dimensions. The reported values indicate generally strong to acceptable reliability across the subscales.

• Process Praise: α = .91 (Excellent)

• Product Praise: α = .74 (Acceptable)

• Person Praise: α = .73 (Acceptable)

Factor Analysis

An Exploratory Factor Analysis (EFA) was performed using the principal axes method. This analysis was supported by a parallel analysis and employed an Oblimin rotation method, suitable for potentially correlated factors.

The initial EFA, guided by the Scree-Plot analysis, supported the extraction of three distinct factors, accounting for 50% of the total instrument variance. To optimize the scale’s psychometric qualities, four initial items were removed. Following this refinement, the retained 13 items demonstrated improved variance explanation, increasing the total variance accounted for to 57%, confirming the hypothesized three-dimensional structure (process, product, person).

Instrument

Test Type: Original Instrument, Inventory/Questionnaire

Format: The measure utilizes a 5-point Likert scale format, where respondents indicate the frequency of use for specific phrases. Response options range from 1 (Never) to 5 (Very often). The instructions guide the respondent to rate how often they use these phrases with their child during activities such as drawing, reading, or sports. The administration method is electronic (online).

Language Available: Spanish

Population Group: Human (Male and Female Primary Caregivers)

Age Group: The scale is intended for caregivers across various adult age ranges: Adolescence (13-17 yrs), Adulthood (18 yrs & older), Young Adulthood (18-29 yrs), Thirties (30-39 yrs), and Middle Age (40-64 yrs).

Population Details: The initial validation sample consisted of parents residing in Argentina who were caring for children aged 0 to 3 years.

Test Methodology: Test Reliability, Internal Consistency, Factor Analysis, Exploratory Factor Analysis.

Keywords

Primary Caregiver Praise, Infants, Positive Feedback, Praise of Person, Praise of Process, Praise of Product, Praise Self-Report, Types of Praise.

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Authors

Author ORCID Identifier and Affiliation Email addresses Correspondence Address

• Natalia A. Mancini:

  • Affiliation: Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas (CONICET)

  • Email: [email protected]

  • ORCID: No data is Available

• Christian Schetsche:

  • Affiliation: Universidad de Buenos Aires (UBA)

  • Email: [email protected]

  • ORCID: No data is Available

• Leandro J. Morales:

  • Affiliation: Universidad de Buenos Aires (UBA)

  • Email: [email protected]

  • ORCID: No data is Available

• Ailín C. Simaes:

  • Affiliation: Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas (CONICET)

  • Email: [email protected]

  • ORCID: No data is Available

• Lucas G. Gago Galvano:

  • Affiliation: Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas (CONICET)

  • Email: [email protected]

  • ORCID: No data is Available

Correspondence Address: No data is Available

Permissions & Fee and Test Year

Permissions: Interested researchers or clinicians must contact the corresponding author, Natalia A. Mancini, to request permission for use of the instrument.

Fee and Commercial Use: This measure is available without cost (no fee) and is explicitly not intended for commercial application.

Test Year: 2023

Reference’s

Mancini, N. A., Schetsche, C., Morales, L. J., Simaes, A. C., & Gago Galvano, L. G. (2023). Construcción de una escala para evaluar tipos de elogios otorgados por cuidadores primarios a infantes de 0 a 3 años [Construction of a scale to assess the types of praise given by primary caregivers to infants 0-3 years]. Interdisciplinaria Revista de Psicología y Ciencias Afines, 40(1), 147–157. https://doi.org/10.16888/interd.2023.40.1.9

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Items of the Escala de Elogios Otorgados por Cuidadores Primarios a Infantes

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

The full list of the 13 items for this measure is not available in the provided text. The items can be found in the source document referenced as 2023-93148-009, Appendix 1, Page I.