Childhood Personality Scale (CPS)

Abstract

The Childhood Personality Scale (CPS) is a comprehensive, multi-part Psychological measurement instrument developed by Eleanor Dibble and Donald J. Cohen in 1974. Its core function is to capture a detailed and stable picture of a child’s typical behavior and Personality characteristics, specifically focusing on patterns observed over a recent two-month period. The scale is divided into two essential components: Part 1 utilizes an observer-rated system, completed by a parent or caregiver, to assess the child’s temperament and interaction style. Part 2 acts as a complementary self-report measure, assessing the parent’s current behaviors and their perception of the ideal Parental Style. This dual structure facilitates the study of complex developmental dynamics by analyzing the interaction between a child’s inherent traits and the caregiver’s environment, making the CPS highly relevant in developmental and clinical research settings.

Keywords

Childhood personality, Developmental assessment, Parental Style, Child competence, Temperament, Behavioral rating, Dibble and Cohen, Clinical practice.

Authors

Eleanor Dibble, Donald J. Cohen.

Purpose

The primary purpose of the Childhood Personality Scale (CPS) is strategically twofold. First, it provides a standardized, reliable methodology for assessing stable behavioral and temperamental attributes in young children. Second, and equally important, it simultaneously evaluates the contextual environment provided by the primary caregiver. This combined approach allows researchers and clinicians to move beyond simple trait assessment and analyze the intricate ways a child’s inherent disposition interacts with specific dimensions of Parental Style, such as emotional warmth, behavioral control, autonomy granting, and discipline consistency.

The instrument is specifically designed to be completed by a knowledgeable observer, typically a parent or guardian, who is instructed to rate the child’s typical behavior over the past 60 days. This focus on stable, recent behavior patterns ensures the CPS is a valuable tool for monitoring longitudinal developmental changes, identifying potential behavioral deviations, or rigorously evaluating the effectiveness of clinical interventions aimed at modifying either child behavior or parental interaction strategies.

Construct

The CPS measures two distinct yet highly interrelated psychological constructs across its two parts, reflecting a comprehensive developmental perspective. Part 1 is dedicated to the construct of Child Personality and Temperament. This section aims to capture various dimensions of a child’s inherent disposition, including core behavioral traits such as activity level, sociability, persistence, general mood (e.g., delight versus fussiness), and responsiveness to social and environmental stimuli. These dimensions are recognized as foundational components of early childhood development and are measured using a 7-point Likert scale.

Part 2 addresses the construct of Parental Attitudes and Behavior. Utilizing a self-report format, this section requires the caregiver to provide two ratings for each item: their current behaviors (e.g., rule enforcement, emotional closeness, use of punishment) and their perception of the ideal parent. This dual rating system is crucial as the comparison between the actual and ideal self provides clinical insight into the caregiver’s self-efficacy, potential stress levels, and the discrepancy between their desired and actual Parental Style, thereby yielding essential data for a comprehensive developmental assessment.

Validity

While the specific, detailed psychometric results are typically reserved for the primary source articles (Dibble & Cohen, 1974, 1977), the widespread inclusion of the CPS in authoritative psychological sourcebooks, such as the 2007 edition by Fischer and Corcoran, strongly indicates established Construct Validity. The initial conceptualization of the CPS as a companion instrument—measuring both child competence and parental style simultaneously—required significant developmental rigor to ensure that the items accurately reflect the theoretical domains of child temperament and caregiver interaction, thus establishing high content validity.

Subsequent independent research utilizing the CPS reinforces its utility and criterion-related validity. For instance, studies examining the relationship between parenting satisfaction and self-efficacy, particularly among mothers of children with developmental differences (e.g., Down Syndrome, as noted by Gilmore & Cuskelly, 2012), demonstrate that the scale successfully measures relevant personality dimensions and accurately predicts related behavioral and familial outcomes across various clinical and developmental populations.

Reliability

For any psychological instrument intended for clinical or research application, the demonstration of high Reliability is paramount. Although the summary content does not provide specific coefficients, instruments structured like the CPS are expected to have undergone rigorous evaluation of internal consistency, typically measured via Cronbach’s Alpha, to confirm that items intended to measure the same underlying dimension are highly correlated.

Methodologically, the instruction for caregivers to rate the child based on behavior exhibited over the “last two months” serves a deliberate purpose: to enhance temporal stability (test-retest reliability). By focusing the assessment on stable Personality traits rather than momentary or transient emotional states, the developers ensured that the resulting scores reflect enduring characteristics. This methodological consistency is a defining cornerstone of sound Psychometrics.

Factor Analysis

The complexity and broad scope of behaviors addressed in Part 1—ranging from frustration tolerance and persistence to social engagement and activity level—strongly suggest that the Childhood Personality Scale is inherently multidimensional. While specific factor loadings or solutions are not detailed in the summary, it is highly probable that sophisticated statistical techniques, such as Principal Components Analysis or Exploratory Factor Analysis, were employed during the scale’s development. These analyses would have served to distill the large number of individual items into a smaller set of meaningful, distinct latent factors. These factors are expected to align with established dimensions of childhood temperament, such as Emotionality, Sociability, and Activity Level.

Instrument

Test Type: Observer-Rated Questionnaire (Part 1); Self-Report Questionnaire (Part 2)

Format: Paper-and-pencil questionnaire utilizing Likert-type scales. Part 1 uses a 7-point scale (1=never to 7=always); Part 2 uses a 0-6 scale (current vs. ideal parent).

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

Population Group: Children and their parents/caregivers.

Age Group: Typically utilized for young children, inferred from the nature of the items (e.g., babbling, playing with toys).

Population Details: Used effectively in both general and clinical populations, including specialized studies involving children with specific developmental needs (e.g., Down Syndrome).

Test Methodology: Caregivers rate the child’s typical behavior over the preceding two months using a 7-column response format. Caregivers simultaneously rate their own current and ideal parenting behaviors using a separate 0-6 scale format.

Keywords

Temperament scale, Child behavior, Parental attitudes, Dibble, Cohen, Likert scale, Psychological instrument, Psychometrics, Developmental research.

Authors

Author ORCID Identifier: Information not provided in the source material.

Affiliation Email addresses: Information not provided in the source material.

Correspondence Address: Information not provided in the source material.

Permissions & Fee and Test Year

The Childhood Personality Scale (CPS) was initially developed and published in 1974 by Eleanor Dibble and Donald J. Cohen, featured prominently in the Archives of General Psychiatry. The scale was later reproduced in authoritative compilation works, notably in the 4th edition of Measures for Clinical Practice and Research: A Sourcebook (Fischer & Corcoran, 2007), published by Oxford University Press. Information regarding current usage fees and explicit permissions for reproduction or clinical use is generally managed by the copyright holder or subsequent authorized publishers. Researchers and clinicians seeking to implement the CPS are advised to consult the original primary reference sources for detailed usage rights and any associated costs.

Reference’s

• Dibble, Eleanor., Cohen, Donald J. (1974). Companion Instruments for Measuring Children’s Competence and Parental Style. Archives of General Psychiatry, 30(6), 805-815.

• Dibble, Eleanor., Cohen, Donald J., Grawe, J.M. (1977). Fathers’ and mothers’ perceptions of children’s personality. Archives of General Psychiatry, 34(4), 480-487.

• Dibble, E., and Cohen, D.J. (1974). Childhood Personality Scale (CPS). In Fischer, Joel., Corcoran, Kevin J. (2007). Measures for Clinical Practice and research: A sourcebook. (4th ed.). NY. Oxford University Pr. Vol. 1, Page (s): 451-454.

• 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.

Items of the Childhood Personality Scale (CPS)

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