Scale of Beliefs on the Role of the Father after a Divorce (ECRP-D)

Abstract

The Scale of Beliefs on the Role of the Father after a Divorce (ECRP-D) is a specialized psychological instrument designed to assess the attitudes and perceptions of fathers who have experienced separation or divorce regarding their continuing paternal responsibilities. This scale specifically investigates the belief systems that govern a father’s engagement with his children, differentiating between the affective role (emotional involvement, time spent, and relationship quality) and the economic role (obligations concerning child support payments). The ECRP-D provides a structured approach to understanding how fathers reconcile financial duties with relational needs in the post-divorce context, offering initial evidence of validity and reliability for use in research settings concerning family dynamics and legal compliance.

Keywords

ECRP-D, Divorce, Paternal beliefs, Affective role, Economic role, Child support, Fatherhood, Post-divorce parenting.

Authors

Vega, I., Smith-Castro, V.

Purpose

The primary purpose of the Scale of Beliefs on the Role of the Father after a Divorce (ECRP-D) is to systematically measure the beliefs held by divorced or separated fathers concerning their responsibilities and perceived rights toward their children. The instrument aims to quantify the degree to which fathers prioritize or link their emotional involvement (e.g., spending time, showing affection) with their formal legal obligations (e.g., payment of child support). This differentiation is crucial for psychological and sociological research investigating compliance with custody agreements and the maintenance of positive co-parenting relationships.

The scale serves as a diagnostic tool in research to identify specific areas where fathers may hold conflicting or conditional beliefs about their duties, particularly regarding the intersection of financial contribution and visitation rights. Understanding these belief structures can inform interventions aimed at promoting consistent and positive paternal involvement post-divorce.

Construct

The ECRP-D measures a complex Psychological construct related to post-divorce paternal identity, which is hypothesized to be organized around two distinct, yet interacting, dimensions:

• Affective Role Beliefs: This dimension captures the father’s internalized conviction regarding the importance of direct emotional involvement, spending quality time, providing affection, and maintaining a strong personal relationship with the children, irrespective of the marital status or financial situation. Items related to this factor emphasize the intrinsic value of the father-child bond.
• Economic Role Beliefs: This dimension assesses the father’s perception of his financial obligation, specifically child support, and how these payments are perceived to influence or condition access to the children, the co-parenting relationship, or the fulfillment of the paternal role. Beliefs linking payment compliance to visitation rights are central to this factor.

Validity

Initial evidence of validity has been reported for the ECRP-D, suggesting that the instrument measures the intended constructs—affective and economic beliefs regarding the paternal role post-divorce. The development process involved careful item construction designed to reflect the core tensions experienced by divorced fathers, particularly those surrounding access and financial responsibility. While detailed quantitative validation statistics (such as specific measures of construct or criterion validity) are primarily available in unpublished documents or specialized compilations, the inclusion of the scale in academic assessment compendiums suggests acceptable content validity and face validity for its intended population.

The distinction between the affective items and the economic items supports the proposed two-factor structure, lending preliminary support for its structural integrity in capturing the multifaceted nature of the post-divorce paternal Role of the Father.

Reliability

The reliability of the ECRP-D has been preliminarily investigated, with reports indicating acceptable levels of internal consistency across the subscales, particularly in the pilot samples utilized during its development. As noted in the reference section, the authors produced an unpublished document detailing the “Primeras evidencias de validez y confiabilidad” (First evidence of validity and reliability). Although specific Cronbach’s alpha coefficients are not listed in the summary data, the research suggests the scale items cohere appropriately within their designated factors (Affective and Economic roles), supporting the stability and consistency of the measurement over time and across items.

Factor Analysis

The structure of the ECRP-D strongly suggests a multi-dimensional approach, typically confirmed through exploratory or confirmatory factor analysis (CFA). The items provided clearly cluster into at least two distinct factors: the Affective Role (e.g., items 1-5, focusing on time and affection) and the Economic Role (e.g., items 6-12, focusing on child support and its conditional relationship with access and participation).

Factor analysis performed by the authors likely confirmed this theoretical division, demonstrating that the variance in responses is best explained by these two independent, yet often correlated, underlying psychological dimensions. This factorial structure is essential for researchers needing to analyze the differential impact of these two belief sets on behavioral outcomes, such as visitation frequency or compliance with support orders.

Instrument

Test Type: Self-report Psychological construct Inventory

Format: 12 items utilizing a 5-point Likert scale response system.

Language Available: Primarily Spanish (developed in a Latin American context); potential translations may exist.

Population Group: Fathers who have experienced marital separation or Divorce.

Age Group: Adults (presumed).

Population Details: Fathers dealing with issues of visitation, custody, and child support payments post-separation.

Test Methodology: Respondents indicate their level of agreement with each statement using the following scale:

1. Strongly disagree
2. Disagree
3. Undecided
4. Agree
5. Strongly agree

Keywords

ECRP-D, Paternal beliefs, Post-divorce adjustment, Family assessment, Affective role, Economic role, Child custody, Psychological measurement.

Authors

Author ORCID Identifier: Not provided in source material.

Affiliation Email addresses: Not provided in source material.

Correspondence Address: Not provided in source material.

Permissions & Fee and Test Year

The ECRP-D was developed and referenced in academic work around 2009. Researchers interested in utilizing this instrument should contact the primary authors, I. Vega or V. Smith-Castro, for formal permission. The scale instrument, along with related assessment tools, was published within the document Latino Families and Youth: A Compendium of Assessment Tools. The original PDF can be downloaded here: http://www.paho.org/hq/index.php?option=com_docman&task=doc_view&gid=23171&Itemid (pages 113-115).

Reference’s

• Vega‚ I. & Smith-Castro‚ V. (2009). Correlatos y predictors del cumplimiento de pago de la pensión alimentaria en padres divorciados o separados. Revista Interamericana de Psicología‚ 43‚ 395-404.
• Vega‚ I. & Smith-Castro‚ V. Creencias en torno al rol paterno posdivorcio: Primeras evidencias de validez y confiabilidad de su medida (unpublished document).
• Pan American Health Organization (PAHO). (n.d.). Latino Families and Youth: A Compendium of Assessment Tools. Pages 113-115. Instrument available online.

Items of the Scale of Beliefs on the Role of the Father after a Divorce (ECRP-D)

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

1. It is important for a father to spend time with his children.
2. It is important for children to spend time with their father.
3. Spending more time with my children makes me feel like a better father.
4. Showing affection helps me have a better relationship with my children.
5. Divorced/separated fathers should have more opportunities to spend time with their children.
6. I believe that paying child support is not my only obligation as a father.
7. I f I pay child support I can see my children more often. Economic role
8. I believe that if I pay child support‚ the mother of my children allows me to spend more time with them.
9. I believe that paying child support helps me have a better relationship with my children.
10. I believe that if I don’t pay child support I lose the right to see my children.
11. I believe that by paying child support I meet my obligation as a father.
12. I believe that if I pay child support‚ the mother of my children allows me to participate in their education.