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. 2017 Aug;26(8):2136-2151.
doi: 10.1007/s10826-017-0741-5. Epub 2017 May 9.

The Multidimensional Assessment of Parenting Scale (MAPS): Development and Psychometric Properties

Justin Parent  1   2 , Rex Forehand  1
Affiliations

The Multidimensional Assessment of Parenting Scale (MAPS): Development and Psychometric Properties

Justin Parent et al. J Child Fam Stud. 2017 Aug.

Abstract

The aim of the current study was to create a new measure of parenting practices, constituted by items from already established measures, to advance the measurement of parenting practices in clinical and research settings. Five stages were utilized to select optimal parenting items, establish a factor structure consisting of positive and negative dimensions of parenting, meaningfully consider child developmental stage, and ensure strong psychometric properties (reliability and validity) of the final measure. A total of 1,790 parents (44% fathers) were recruited online through Amazon's Mechanical Turk for three cohorts: Stages 1 (N = 611), 2 (N = 615), and 3 (N = 564). Each sample was equally divided by child developmental stage: Young childhood (3 to 7 years old), middle childhood (8 to 12 years old), and adolescence (13 to 17 years old). Through the five-stage empirical approach, the Multidimensional Assessment of Parenting Scale (MAPS) was developed, successfully achieving all aims. The MAPS factor structure included both positive and negative dimensions of warmth/hostility and behavioral control that were appropriate for parents of children across the developmental span. The MAPS demonstrated strong reliability and longitudinal analyses provided initial support for the validity of MAPS subscales.

Keywords: assessment; parenting.

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Conflict of interest statement

Conflict of Interest: The authors declare that they have no conflicts of interest.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Flow diagram of the five stages.
Figure 2
Figure 2
CFA factor structure with items as indicators.
Figure 3
Figure 3
Schaefer’s circumplex model of parenting with MAPS subscales
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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