Parental Authority Questionnaire (PAQ)

Abstract

The Parental Authority Questionnaire (PAQ) is a widely utilized psychometric instrument designed to measure an individual’s retrospective perceptions of their parents’ parenting styles. Developed by John R. Buri, the PAQ operationalizes the conceptual framework established by Diana Baumrind, focusing specifically on three primary styles: Authoritarian, Permissive, and Authoritative. The scale comprises two identical, separate forms—one assessing the mother’s behavior and one assessing the father’s behavior—allowing for differentiated analysis of perceived parental influence. It is scored using a 5-point Likert scale, providing quantifiable data on perceived levels of parental control, warmth, and communication.

Keywords

Parental Authority Questionnaire, PAQ, Parenting styles, Authoritarian parenting, Permissive parenting, Authoritative parenting, Parent-child relations, John R. Buri, Developmental psychology.

Authors

John R. Buri

Purpose

The primary purpose of the PAQ is to provide a standardized, self-report measure of how adult or older adolescent children perceive the authority and discipline strategies employed by their parents (both mother and father) during their formative years. This instrument is crucial for research exploring the long-term psychological and behavioral outcomes associated with different parenting styles. It specifically aims to quantify the degree to which parents exhibited characteristics of authoritative, authoritarian, and permissive approaches to child-rearing.

By splitting the questionnaire into two distinct sections, the PAQ enables researchers to examine potential differences in maternal and paternal authority, recognizing that children often experience distinct disciplinary and nurturing environments from each parent. This differentiation is essential for understanding complex family dynamics and their impact on personality development.

Construct

The PAQ is grounded in the seminal work of Diana Baumrind on parental authority patterns. The scale measures three distinct psychological constructs, each representing a major parenting style:

• Authoritarian Style: Characterized by high demandingness and low responsiveness. Parents following this style expect strict obedience, discourage verbal give-and-take, and use punitive measures. Items relating to strict control and insistence on unquestioning obedience load onto this factor (often aligning with the source’s “Control” subscale).
• Permissive Style: Characterized by low demandingness and high responsiveness (or indifference). Parents exhibiting this style impose few rules or demands, prioritize the child’s freedom and autonomy, and avoid confrontation. Items focusing on a lack of direction, high child autonomy, and absence of clear guidelines measure this construct.
• Authoritative Style: Characterized by high demandingness and high responsiveness. Parents employing this style set clear standards and expectations but encourage open communication, discuss reasoning behind rules, and are willing to adjust standards based on the child’s needs. Items related to rational guidance, mutual discussion, and reasonable expectations measure this construct (often aligning with the source’s “Expectations” subscale, particularly those involving two-way communication).

Validity

Initial validation studies, particularly those conducted by Buri (1991), demonstrated strong construct validity for the PAQ. The scale successfully differentiated between the three theoretical parenting styles based on factor analysis. Criterion validity has been established through correlations between PAQ scores and various measures of adolescent and young adult adjustment. For instance, authoritative parenting scores are typically positively correlated with measures of self-esteem, maturity, and academic achievement, while authoritarian scores often correlate positively with anxiety and depression, supporting the scale’s ability to predict relevant psychological outcomes.

Furthermore, the PAQ’s structure, which uses identical items for both parents, facilitates cross-validation across parental targets, enhancing its internal structure validity. Subsequent research has repeatedly confirmed the PAQ’s utility in diverse cultural and clinical settings, indicating good external validity across various populations studying parental authority.

Reliability

The PAQ exhibits high internal consistency, a key measure of reliability. Across numerous studies, the Cronbach’s Alpha coefficients for the three subscales (Authoritarian, Permissive, and Authoritative) typically range from 0.75 to above 0.90, indicating that the items within each subscale reliably measure the same underlying construct. Buri (1991) reported high reliability scores in the original validation study published in the Journal of Personality Assessment.

The stability of the measure over time (test-retest reliability) has also been investigated, particularly in college student populations, showing consistent scores over short intervals. This high reliability suggests that the PAQ accurately captures stable, retrospective perceptions of parental behavior.

Factor Analysis

The structure of the Parental Authority Questionnaire was confirmed through factor analysis, which generally yielded three clear factors corresponding to the three Baumrind parenting styles. The original instrument utilized 30 items for each parent, with 10 items loading significantly onto each of the three dimensions:

• Authoritative Subscale: Items 4, 5, 8, 11, 15, 20, 22, 23, 27, and 30 (often labeled “Expectations” in the provided source, emphasizing rational guidance and discussion).
• Authoritarian Subscale: Items 2, 3, 7, 9, 12, 16, 18, 25, 26, and 29 (often labeled “Control” in the provided source, emphasizing strict, unquestioning obedience and punishment).
• Permissive Subscale: Items 1, 6, 10, 13, 14, 17, 19, 21, 24, and 28 (labeled “Permissive style” in the provided source, emphasizing lack of boundaries and high autonomy).

The clear loading of items onto these distinct factors validates the theoretical tripartite model of parenting styles employed by the scale.

Instrument

Test Type: Self-report questionnaire/Psychometric scale

Format: 60 items total (30 items for Mother form, 30 items for Father form). Responses are provided on a 5-point Likert scale.

Language Available: Primarily English, though translations and adaptations exist for numerous languages (e.g., Spanish, Portuguese, German) used in cross-cultural research.

Population Group: Adolescents and adults (typically college students or general adult population).

Age Group: Typically 18 years and older (used to assess retrospective perceptions of childhood experiences).

Population Details: Respondents must have sufficient cognitive ability to recall and evaluate their parents’ behavior during their childhood and adolescence.

Test Methodology: Respondents rate each item based on how accurately it describes their mother’s or father’s behavior while they were growing up, using the 5-point scale where 1 = Strongly Disagree and 5 = Strongly Agree.

Keywords

Retrospective assessment, Psychometrics, Likert scale, Authoritative, Authoritarian, Permissive, Parental authority, Child development.

Authors

Author ORCID Identifier: Not publicly available for the primary author, John R. Buri.

Affiliation Email addresses: Contact information generally directed to the author’s academic institution.

Correspondence Address: John R. Buri, Department of Psychology, University of St. Thomas, 2115 Summit Avenue, St. Paul, MN.

Permissions & Fee and Test Year

The PAQ was published in 1991. The primary reference is Buri (1991). As a research instrument published in an academic journal, permission for non-commercial academic use is often granted by the author, John R. Buri, or the journal publisher. There is typically no fee required for research use, but users must cite the original source appropriately.

The original PDF for an adaptation and validation of a related scale that includes the PAQ items can be downloaded here: http://humboldt-dspace.calstate.edu/bitstream/handle/2148/522/Livia_Ribeiro.pdf?sequence=1 (See pages 55-66).

Reference’s

• Baumrind, D. (1971). Current patterns of parental authority. Developmental Psychology Monographs, 4(1, Part 2).
• Buri, J. (1991). Parental Authority Questionnaire. Journal of Personality Assessment, 57(1), 110-119.
• Ribeiro, L. L. (2009). CONSTRUCTION AND VALIDATION OF A FOUR PARENTING STYLES SCALE. A Thesis (M.A.)–Humboldt State University, Psychology: Counseling.

Items of the Parental Authority Questionnaire (PAQ)

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

Scoring Key:

1=Strongly Disagree/ 2=Disagree/ 3= Neither agree nor disagree/ 4=Agree/ 5= Strongly Agree

• Expectations items: 4, 5, 8, 11, 15, 20, 22, 23, 27 and 30 (Authoritative)
• Control items: 2, 3, 7, 9, 12, 16, 18, 25, 26, and 29 (Authoritarian)
• Permissive style items: 1, 6, 10, 13, 14, 17, 19, 21, 24, and 28 (Permissive)

PAQ (mother)

1. While I was growing up my mother felt that in a well-run home the children should have their way in the family as often as the parents do.
2. Even if his children didn’t agree with her, my mother felt that it was for our own good if we were forced to conform to what she thought was right.
3. Whenever my mother told me to do something as I was growing up, she expected me to do it immediately without asking any questions.
4. As I was growing up, once family policy had been established, my mother discussed the reasoning behind the policy with the children in the family.
5. My mother has always encouraged verbal give-and-take whenever I have felt that family rules and restrictions were unreasonable.
6. My mother has always felt that what children need is to be free to make up their own minds and to do what they want to do, even if this does not agree with what their parents might want.
7. As I was growing up my mother did not allow me to question any decision she had made.
8. As I was growing up my mother directed the activities and decisions of the children in the family through reasoning and discipline.
9. My mother has always felt that more force should be used by parents in order to get their children to behave the way they are supposed to.
10. As I was growing up my mother did not feel that I needed to obey rules and regulations of behavior simply because someone in authority had established them.
11. As I was growing up I knew what my mother expected of me in my family, but I also felt free to discuss those expectations with my mother when I felt that they were unreasonable.
12. My mother felt that wise parents should teach their children early just who is boss in the family.
13. As I was growing up, my mother seldom gave me expectations and guidelines for my behavior.
14. Most of the time as I was growing up my mother did what the children in the family wanted when making family decisions.
15. As the children in my family were growing up, my mother consistently gave us direction and guidance in rational and objective ways.
16. As I was growing up my mother would get very upset if I tried to disagree with her.
17. My mother feels that most problems in society would be solved if parents would not restrict their children’s activities, decisions, and desires as they are growing up.
18. As I was growing up my mother let me know what behavior she expected of me, and if I didn’t meet those expectations, she punished me.
19. As I was growing up my mother allowed me to decide most things for myself without a lot of direction from her.
20. As I was growing up my mother took the children’s opinions into consideration when making family decisions, but she would not decide for something simply because the children wanted it.
21. My mother did not view herself as responsible for directing and guiding my behavior as I was growing up.
22. My mother had clear standards of behavior for the children in our home as I was growing up, but she was willing to adjust those standards to the needs of each of the individual children in the family.
23. My mother gave me direction for my behavior and activities as I was growing up and she expected me to follow her direction, but she was always willing to listen to my concerns and to discuss that direction with me.
24. As I was growing up my mother allowed me to form my own point of view on family matters and she generally allowed me to decide for myself what I was going to do.
25. My mother has always felt that most problems in society would be solved if we could get parents to strictly and forcibly deal with their children when they don’t do what they are supposed to as they are growing up.
26. As I was growing up my mother often told me exactly what she wanted me to do and how she expected me to do it.
27. As I was growing up my mother gave me clear direction for my behaviors and activities, but she was also understanding when I disagreed with her.
28. As I was growing up my mother did not direct the behaviors, activities, and desires of the children in the family.
29. As I was growing up I knew what my mother expected of me in the family and she insisted that I conform to those expectations simply out of respect for her authority.
30. As I was growing up, if my mother made a decision in the family that hurt me, she was willing to discuss that decision with me and to admit it if she had made a mistake.

PAQ (father)

1. While I was growing up my father felt that in a well-run home the children should have their way in the family as often as the parents do.
2. Even if his children didn’t agree with him, my father felt that it was for our own good if we were forced to conform to what he thought was right.
3. Whenever my father told me to do something as I was growing up, he expected me to do it immediately without asking any questions.
4. As I was growing up, once family policy had been established, my father discussed the reasoning behind the policy with the children in the family.
5. My father has always encouraged verbal give-and-take whenever I have felt that family rules and restrictions were unreasonable.
6. My father has always felt that what children need is to be free to make up their own minds and to do what they want to do, even if this does not agree with what their parents might want.
7. As I was growing up my father did not allow me to question any decision he had made.
8. As I was growing up my father directed the activities and decisions of the children in the family through reasoning and discipline.
9. My father has always felt that more force should be used by parents in order to get their children to behave the way they are supposed to.
10. As I was growing up my father did not feel that I needed to obey rules and regulations of behavior simply because someone in authority had established them.
11. As I was growing up I knew what my father expected of me in my family, but I also felt free to discuss those expectations with my father when I felt that they were unreasonable.
12. My father felt that wise parents should teach their children early just who is boss in the family.
13. As I was growing up, my father seldom gave me expectations and guidelines for my behavior.
14. Most of the time as I was growing up my father did what the children in the family wanted when making family decisions.
15. As the children in my family were growing up, my father consistently gave us direction and guidance in rational and objective ways.
16. As I was growing up my father would get very upset if I tried to disagree with him.
17. My father feels that most problems in society would be solved if parents would not restrict their children’s activities, decisions, and desires as they are growing up.
18. As I was growing up my father let me know what behavior he expected of me, and if I didn’t meet those expectations, he punished me.
19. As I was growing up my father allowed me to decide most things for myself without a lot of direction from him.
20. As I was growing up my father took the children’s opinions into consideration when making family decisions, but he would not decide for something simply because the children wanted it.
21. My father did not view himself as responsible for directing and guiding my behavior as I was growing up.
22. My father had clear standards of behavior for the children in our home as I was growing up, but he was willing to adjust those standards to the needs of each of the individual children in the family.
23. My father gave me direction for my behavior and activities as I was growing up and he expected me to follow his direction, but he was always willing to listen to my concerns and to discuss that direction with me.
24. As I was growing up my father allowed me to form my own point of view on family matters and he generally allowed me to decide for myself what I was going to do.
25. My father has always felt that most problems in society would be solved if we could get parents to strictly and forcibly deal with their children when they don’t do what they are supposed to as they are growing up.
26. As I was growing up my father often told me exactly what he wanted me to do and how he expected me to do it.
27. As I was growing up my father gave me clear direction for my behaviors and activities, but he was also understanding when I disagreed with him.
28. As I was growing up my father did not direct the behaviors, activities, and desires of the children in the family.
29. As I was growing up I knew what my father expected of me in the family and he insisted that I conform to those expectations simply out of respect for his authority.
30. As I was growing up, if my father made a decision in the family that hurt me, he was willing to discuss that decision with me and to admit it if he had made a mistake.