Parental Treatment Questionnaire (PTQ)

Abstract

The Parental Treatment Questionnaire (PTQ) is a concise, self-report instrument designed to retrospectively assess an individual’s perception of the treatment they received from their parents during childhood. Developed in conjunction with research on the structure of self-esteem, the PTQ focuses on key dimensions of perceived parental behavior, including levels of approval, criticism, support, and perceived worthiness. The scale distinguishes between interactions with the mother and the father, allowing for separate analysis of maternal and paternal influence on adult self-concept and personality development.

Keywords

Parental treatment, retrospective assessment, perceived parental behavior, self-esteem, Tafarodi, parenting style, parent-child relationship, criticism, approval, support.

Authors

R. W. Tafarodi, W. B. Swann Jr., C. Vu

Purpose

The primary purpose of the Parental Treatment Questionnaire (PTQ) is to quantify the perceived quality of the parent-child relationship as recalled by the adult respondent. Specifically, the instrument aims to measure the extent of positive interactions (e.g., approval and support) and negative interactions (e.g., criticism and neglect) experienced during formative years. This measurement provides crucial empirical data for understanding the developmental antecedents of psychological constructs such as self-concept, global self-esteem, and specific dimensions like self-liking and self-competence.

By differentiating between maternal and paternal treatment across distinct domains of emotional interaction, the PTQ facilitates research into differential parenting effects, contributing to a deeper understanding of how perceived historical parental behavior influences current adult functioning.

Construct

The PTQ measures perceived parental behavior, which serves as a proxy for the individual’s subjective experience of the early caregiving environment. The questionnaire taps into several key psychological constructs related to parenting:

• Perceived Approval and Worthiness: Items assessing the degree to which the parent made the child feel valued and approved of (e.g., items 1, 2, 3, 4).
• Perceived Neglect/Lack of Care: Items measuring the perception that the parent was indifferent or uncaring regarding the child’s endeavors (e.g., items 5, 6).
• Perceived Criticism and Hostility: Items capturing the frequency of yelling or being overly critical (e.g., items 7, 8, 9, 10).
• Perceived Support: Items measuring the parent’s responsiveness and support during times of difficulty (e.g., items 11, 12).

Collectively, these dimensions offer a broad assessment of the perceived emotional climate of the childhood home, linking early relational experiences to later personality characteristics.

Validity

The validity of the PTQ is supported by its consistent use in studies correlating perceived parental treatment with adult personality outcomes. Construct validity is demonstrated by findings that positive parental treatment (high approval, low criticism) correlates significantly with higher levels of self-liking and self-competence, as detailed in the seminal work by Tafarodi and Swann (1995). The instrument possesses strong face validity, as the items directly and clearly address behaviors widely accepted in developmental psychology as indicative of supportive or critical parenting practices.

Reliability

While the PTQ is often utilized as a set of separate sub-scales (e.g., Maternal Approval, Paternal Criticism), the instrument demonstrates adequate internal consistency in research settings. Reliability estimates, typically measured using Cronbach’s alpha, are reported within the primary literature documenting its development. Researchers often calculate separate alpha coefficients for the aggregated positive treatment items (approval/support) and the aggregated negative treatment items (criticism/neglect) for both parental figures.

Factor Analysis

Although the PTQ is short, its design implies a multi-factorial structure. A typical factor analysis of the PTQ reveals distinct factors separating the source of treatment (Mother vs. Father) and the valence of treatment (Positive vs. Negative). This structure allows researchers to analyze the unique contributions of maternal support, maternal criticism, paternal support, and paternal criticism, reflecting the complexity of developmental psychology and family dynamics.

Instrument

Test Type: Self-report questionnaire; Retrospective assessment of childhood experiences.

Format: 12 items rated on a 5-point Likert scale.

Language Available: English (Original).

Population Group: Adults (retrospectively assessing childhood).

Age Group: Typically 18 years and older.

Population Details: Primarily used with non-clinical university student samples and general adult populations in social and personality psychology research.

Test Methodology: Respondents indicate their level of agreement with each statement using a 5-point Likert scale. Scoring requires the reversal of negative items (specifically items 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, and 10) before summing to create composite scores for overall positive and negative parental treatment.

Keywords

Parental treatment, approval, criticism, retrospective assessment, self-concept, Tafarodi, parenting, Likert scale, personality assessment, childhood experiences.

Authors

Author ORCID Identifier: Not provided in source content.

Affiliation Email addresses: Not provided in source content.

Correspondence Address: Not provided in source content.

Permissions & Fee and Test Year

Test Year: 1995 (Year of initial validation publication).

Permissions and Fee: The PTQ is generally considered an academic research instrument available for non-commercial use, provided proper citation is given to the original authors (Tafarodi & Swann, 1995).

Reference’s

The original PDF detailing the instrument’s context can be downloaded here: Self-liking and self-competence as dimensions of global self-esteem

• Tafarodi, R. W., & Swann, W. B. Jr. (1995). Self-liking and self-competence as dimensions of global self-esteem: Initial validation of a measure. Journal of Personality Assessment, 65, 322–342.
• Tafarodi, R. W., & Vu, C. (1997). Two-dimensional self-esteem and reactions to success and failure. Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin, 23, 626–635.

Items of the Parental Treatment Questionnaire (PTQ)

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

1. As a child, I received a great deal of approval from my mother.
2. As a child, I received a great deal of approval from my father.
3. My mother made me feel worthy as a child.
4. My father made me feel worthy as a child.
5. My mother never seemed to care much how I was doing in my endeavors.
6. My father never seemed to care much how I was doing in my endeavors.
7. I can remember my mother was very yelling at me a lot.
8. I can remember my father was very yelling at me a lot.
9. My mother was very critical of me as a child.
10. My father was very critical of me as a child.
11. When I experienced difficulties as a child, my mother was very supportive.
12. When I experienced difficulties as a child, my mother was very supportive.