Rachel Pritchett, Jeremy Kemp, Philip Wilson, Helen Minnis, Graham Bryce, Christopher Gillberg, Quick, simple measures of family relationships for use in clinical practice and research. A systematic review, Family Practice, Volume 28, Issue 2, April 2011, Pages 172–187, https://doi.org/10.1093/fampra/cmq080
Navbar Search Filter Mobile Enter search term Search Navbar Search Filter Enter search term SearchBackground. Family functioning has been implicated in the onset of child and adult psychopathology. Various measures exist for assessing constructs in the areas of parent–child relationships, parental practices and discipline, parental beliefs, marital quality, global family functioning and situation-specific measures.
Objectives. To identify systematically all questionnaire measures of family functioning appropriate for use in primary care and research.
Methods. A systematic literature review was conducted, following PRISMA guidelines and searching 14 bibliographic databases using pre-determined filters, to identify family functioning measures suitable for use in families with children from 0 to 3 years old.
Results. One hundred and seven measures of family functioning were reported and tabulated and the most commonly used measures were identified.
Conclusions. There are numerous measures available demonstrating characteristics, which make them suitable for continued use. Future research is needed to examine the more holistic measurement of family functioning using integration of multi-informant data.
Understanding what is going on in the family is a challenge in clinical practice: clinicians in primary care, paediatrics and psychiatry wish to understand the impact of family functioning on development and require robust standardized measures that can be administered effectively in busy clinical settings. The importance of family functioning in the development of child and adult psychopathology is well established. 1, 2 Less clearly understood are the specific family processes implicated and the patterns of cause, correlation and interaction that lead to specific disorders. 3 These processes need to be understood over time and in depth. Cross-sectional research generally fails to disentangle causes from consequences but longitudinal population-based research offers the potential to elucidate these pathways. 4 This type of research relies on well-validated measures of family functioning that can be administered on a large scale, in a cost-efficient manner and be suitable for use with families with young children. A number of self-report instruments fulfil these criteria and form the focus for this review.
Previous examination of the literature in this area has focussed on frequently cited measures without systematically examining all available measures. 5 This present review extends these findings by commenting on recent validation work carried out on the previously reviewed measures. We have also widened the literature search to include all the self-report measures of family functioning which have been developed, producing an up to date, inclusive, systematic review of self-report measures of family functioning.
There are challenges facing those who use self-report family functioning measures. 5 These include the question of how effective family functioning measures are at examining the family level, rather than the individual level, and whether averaging individual family members’ scores to gain an overall score is valid. There is also a broader question of whether people give accurate or simply socially desirable answers in self-report questionnaires. In addition, when examining self-report measures for families with preschool children, it is clear that the measures will be scored solely from the parent’s point of view. Further issues that have been found to affect self-report measures include gender, socio-economic status and ethnic background. Tutty 5 discusses these considerations in detail.
No single measure, or group of measures, can hope to capture the complexity of family functioning completely. Indeed, measures are often developed with a particular purpose in mind, for example to assess the extent to which a particular familial factor is correlated with a particular disorder, such as harsh parental discipline with conduct disorder. Other measures have been developed within a clinical or therapeutic context, as is the case with many of the global measures of family functioning [e.g. the Family Assessment Device (FAD)]. 6 Measures of marital quality have been developed for both clinical and research use. Some measures aim to examine family functioning as a whole, while others look at specific areas of family functioning. For the purposes of this review, measures of family functioning have been organized into six sections, described below: (i) parent–child relationships, (ii) parental practices and discipline, (ii) parental beliefs, (iv) marital quality, (v) global family functioning and (vi) situation-specific measures.
In a survey of child mental health in the UK, prevalence of mental disorders was 18% in families with poor functioning (as measured by the General Functioning Scale of the McMaster Family Assessment Device—FAD), 6 as opposed to 7% in families with healthy levels of family functioning. 7 In the Ontario study of child mental health, poor scores on the same scale predicted subsequent adjustment problems and occurrence of suicidal behaviour. 8 Families of boys with a mood or anxiety disorder, boys with ADHD and control boys were compared using the FAD. 9 While families of boys with psychopathology had poorer levels of family functioning, there was no difference in profile between the mood disordered and the ADHD groups. In contrast, Cunningham et al. 10 found no significant difference in family functioning (FAD) between ADHD and non-ADHD families. The evidence linking family functioning to mental health and development problems emphasises the need fully to understand different measures of family functioning.
In this systematic review, we present a broad overview of published measures of family functioning.
A literature search of Internet-based bibliographic databases was completed covering the area of interest, family functioning. Following a preliminary search by one of the authors (JK), a more comprehensive search was carried out independently by another author (RP) using the guidelines on the preferred method for reporting items for systematic reviews: the PRISMA statement. 11 The search was conducted using the following databases: (i) PsychLIT/PsychInfo, (ii) BNI, (iii) CINAHL, (iv) Ovid EBM databases collection, (v) EMBASE, (vi) ERIC, (Vii) Health and Psychosocial Instruments, (viii) MEDLINE, (ix) WEB OF SCIENCE, (x) International Bibliography of the Social Service, (xi) PsycARTICLES, (xii) Psychology and Behavioural Sciences Collection, (xiii) socINDEX with Full Text and (xiv) Health Source: Nursing/Academic Edition. The two searches were cross-checked and all the references identified in the initial search were found in the more comprehensive search. All searches were limited to references published in English between 1966 and February 2009. Titles and abstracts were checked by a single reviewer (RP) who sought advice regarding inclusion and exclusion from other authors in case of doubt. References were then excluded on the basis of the title and abstract if they did not meet the following criteria: (i) human study population; (ii) study measures include tools that (a) assess area of interest, (b) are self-report measures and thus are potentially suitable for use in a large-scale study and (c) are suitable for use with members of families with a child at or below the age of 3 years (can be deemed suitable by author, even if not validated on this age group) and (iii) published in a peer-reviewed journal, book or monograph.
Search terms were modified iteratively to ensure inclusion of key papers identified a priori by experts in the field. Terms used in the final search were
These eight searches were conducted individually and then combined (1 or 2 or 3 or 4 or 5) and 6 and (7 or 8) (see Fig. 1). Additional references were sought where appropriate using a secondary search of the reference lists from key papers. Experts in the field were consulted to ensure that we had not omitted any key papers.
The papers were then grouped into six themes, based on the aspect of family functioning that they were each measuring. The sections were created in a way to organize the large number of measures into a reasonable number of categories to aid ease of finding appropriate measures for future research.
All the measures met basic criteria for reliability and validity, unless otherwise stated. These criteria required evidence of test–retest or inter-rater reliability and/or basic validation data, including comparison with existing ‘gold standard’ instruments, factor analytic findings that fit with previously developed theory or other instruments or prediction of meaningful correlates or outcomes. The main references will need to be referred to for individual psychometric properties of the measures.
The tables below display all the identified measures of family functioning. There is one table for each of the six sections:
The measures are listed in alphabetical order in each table. It should be noted that some measures could be included in more than one table: where this was the case they were placed in the table deemed most suitable. We have highlighted the most commonly used measures in each table: these were also well-validated measures, normed in reasonably large populations and generally short and easy to use. One such example is the Parenting Stress Index (PSI) (see below), normed on >2500 parents and its short form contains 36 items tapping into key aspects of parenting stress, including parental distress, difficult child characteristics and dysfunctional parent–child interaction.
Table 1 displays the parent–child relationship measures. These measures aim to assess patterns of attachment and other aspects of the parent–child relationship, which can be conceptualized by examining communication, nurturing and a sense of parental pleasure in interaction.
Questionnaire measures of the parent–child relationship
| Measure name | Main reference | Measure description and issues with validity/reliability |
| Adult Adolescent Parenting Inventory | Bavolek 16 | 36 items—parenting attitudes—empathy towards the children’s needs and parental expectations of the child’s development. 17 |
| Antenatal Attachment Questionnaire | Condon 18 | 2D—mother–foetal attachment—how much time the mother spends thinking about the foetus, and degree of tenderness, affection and protectiveness. 19 |
| Child Abuse Potential Inventory | Milner 20 | 77 items—child abuse potential—parental distress, rigidity, unhappiness, problems with child and self, problems with family and problems with others. 21 |
| Father Involvement with Child | Pederson et al. 22 | 14 items, paternal involvement in child’s life: feeding, dressing and playing with their child. 23 |
| Intimate Bond Measure | Wilhelm and Parker 24 | 24 items—perceived quality of partner relationship—affection and consideration in the care subscale, and criticism and domination in the control subscale. 25 |
| Maternal–Fetal Attachment Measure | Cranley 26 | 24 items—maternal attachment to their unborn child—five different domains: differentiation of self from foetus, interaction with the foetus, attributing characteristics to the foetus, giving of self and role taking. 27 |
| Maternal Infant Responsiveness Instrument | Amankwaa et al. 28 | 22 items—how the parent feels about their infant and an appraisal of the infant’s responses—involves rating items, for example ‘I believe I can comfort my baby’ on how strongly the parent believes them to be true. 29 |
| Maternal Postnatal Attachment Questionnaire | Condon and Corkindale 25 | Attachment of the mother to her child after birth—four dimensions: pleasure in proximity, acceptance, tolerance and competence. 30 |
| Maternal Sensitivity Scale | Han 31 | 36 items—maternal sensitivity—maternal ratings on how likely they are to do something. 32 |
| Maternal Separation Anxiety Scale | Hock et al. 33 | Mother’s feelings when she is separated from her infant—examines mother’s level of sadness, guilt and worry. 34 |
| Montreal Fathers’ Involvement Scale | Paquette et al. 35 | 47 items—father’s involvement—six different scales: emotional support, opening to the world, basic care, physical play, evocations and discipline. 35 |
| Myself as a Mother and My Baby Scale | Walker 36 | Two different dimensions—the mother’s evaluation of how she is developing as a parent and how the mother evaluates her infant—7-point semantic differential scale and adjective pairs, for example kind–cruel and difficult–easy. 37 |
| Parental Responsibility Scale | McBride and Mills 38 | 14 items—parental responsibility—parents rate the degree to which they are responsible for tasks, such as making baby-sitting agreements. 39 |
| Parent/Caregiver Involvement Scale | Farran 40 | 11 items—parental involvement behaviour—dimensions of quality and appropriateness of the behaviour. 41 |
| Parent–Child Relationships Questionnaire | Furman and Giberson 42 | 40 items—qualities found in the parent–child relationship—five factors: personal relationship–companionship and intimacy, warmth–nurturance and affection, disciplinary warmth–praise, prosocial behaviours and shared decisions making, power assertion—quarrelling and forceful punishment and possessiveness–control and protectiveness. 43 |
| Parenting Stress Index/Short Form | Abidin 44 | 36 items—degree and cause of stress in a parent–child relationship—three subscales; parental distress, parent–child dysfunctional interaction and difficult child. 45 |
| Postpartum Bonding Questionnaire | Brockington et al. 46 | 25 items—quality of mother–infant interaction—mother’s attachment responses to her infant, for example rating how often the baby makes the mother feel anxious. 47 |
| Prenatal Attachment Inventory | Muller 48 | 21 items—maternal attachment to a child before it is born—mothers indicate how often they have affectionate thoughts or behave affectionately towards the foetus. 49 |
| Separation–Individuation Process Inventory | Christenson and Wilson 50 | Separation–individuation used in mothers while they are pregnant—mothers rate statements as to how accurate they are in relation to themselves. 34 |
| Measure name | Main reference | Measure description and issues with validity/reliability |
| Adult Adolescent Parenting Inventory | Bavolek 16 | 36 items—parenting attitudes—empathy towards the children’s needs and parental expectations of the child’s development. 17 |
| Antenatal Attachment Questionnaire | Condon 18 | 2D—mother–foetal attachment—how much time the mother spends thinking about the foetus, and degree of tenderness, affection and protectiveness. 19 |
| Child Abuse Potential Inventory | Milner 20 | 77 items—child abuse potential—parental distress, rigidity, unhappiness, problems with child and self, problems with family and problems with others. 21 |
| Father Involvement with Child | Pederson et al. 22 | 14 items, paternal involvement in child’s life: feeding, dressing and playing with their child. 23 |
| Intimate Bond Measure | Wilhelm and Parker 24 | 24 items—perceived quality of partner relationship—affection and consideration in the care subscale, and criticism and domination in the control subscale. 25 |
| Maternal–Fetal Attachment Measure | Cranley 26 | 24 items—maternal attachment to their unborn child—five different domains: differentiation of self from foetus, interaction with the foetus, attributing characteristics to the foetus, giving of self and role taking. 27 |
| Maternal Infant Responsiveness Instrument | Amankwaa et al. 28 | 22 items—how the parent feels about their infant and an appraisal of the infant’s responses—involves rating items, for example ‘I believe I can comfort my baby’ on how strongly the parent believes them to be true. 29 |
| Maternal Postnatal Attachment Questionnaire | Condon and Corkindale 25 | Attachment of the mother to her child after birth—four dimensions: pleasure in proximity, acceptance, tolerance and competence. 30 |
| Maternal Sensitivity Scale | Han 31 | 36 items—maternal sensitivity—maternal ratings on how likely they are to do something. 32 |
| Maternal Separation Anxiety Scale | Hock et al. 33 | Mother’s feelings when she is separated from her infant—examines mother’s level of sadness, guilt and worry. 34 |
| Montreal Fathers’ Involvement Scale | Paquette et al. 35 | 47 items—father’s involvement—six different scales: emotional support, opening to the world, basic care, physical play, evocations and discipline. 35 |
| Myself as a Mother and My Baby Scale | Walker 36 | Two different dimensions—the mother’s evaluation of how she is developing as a parent and how the mother evaluates her infant—7-point semantic differential scale and adjective pairs, for example kind–cruel and difficult–easy. 37 |
| Parental Responsibility Scale | McBride and Mills 38 | 14 items—parental responsibility—parents rate the degree to which they are responsible for tasks, such as making baby-sitting agreements. 39 |
| Parent/Caregiver Involvement Scale | Farran 40 | 11 items—parental involvement behaviour—dimensions of quality and appropriateness of the behaviour. 41 |
| Parent–Child Relationships Questionnaire | Furman and Giberson 42 | 40 items—qualities found in the parent–child relationship—five factors: personal relationship–companionship and intimacy, warmth–nurturance and affection, disciplinary warmth–praise, prosocial behaviours and shared decisions making, power assertion—quarrelling and forceful punishment and possessiveness–control and protectiveness. 43 |
| Parenting Stress Index/Short Form | Abidin 44 | 36 items—degree and cause of stress in a parent–child relationship—three subscales; parental distress, parent–child dysfunctional interaction and difficult child. 45 |
| Postpartum Bonding Questionnaire | Brockington et al. 46 | 25 items—quality of mother–infant interaction—mother’s attachment responses to her infant, for example rating how often the baby makes the mother feel anxious. 47 |
| Prenatal Attachment Inventory | Muller 48 | 21 items—maternal attachment to a child before it is born—mothers indicate how often they have affectionate thoughts or behave affectionately towards the foetus. 49 |
| Separation–Individuation Process Inventory | Christenson and Wilson 50 | Separation–individuation used in mothers while they are pregnant—mothers rate statements as to how accurate they are in relation to themselves. 34 |
Questionnaire measures of the parent–child relationship
| Measure name | Main reference | Measure description and issues with validity/reliability |
| Adult Adolescent Parenting Inventory | Bavolek 16 | 36 items—parenting attitudes—empathy towards the children’s needs and parental expectations of the child’s development. 17 |
| Antenatal Attachment Questionnaire | Condon 18 | 2D—mother–foetal attachment—how much time the mother spends thinking about the foetus, and degree of tenderness, affection and protectiveness. 19 |
| Child Abuse Potential Inventory | Milner 20 | 77 items—child abuse potential—parental distress, rigidity, unhappiness, problems with child and self, problems with family and problems with others. 21 |
| Father Involvement with Child | Pederson et al. 22 | 14 items, paternal involvement in child’s life: feeding, dressing and playing with their child. 23 |
| Intimate Bond Measure | Wilhelm and Parker 24 | 24 items—perceived quality of partner relationship—affection and consideration in the care subscale, and criticism and domination in the control subscale. 25 |
| Maternal–Fetal Attachment Measure | Cranley 26 | 24 items—maternal attachment to their unborn child—five different domains: differentiation of self from foetus, interaction with the foetus, attributing characteristics to the foetus, giving of self and role taking. 27 |
| Maternal Infant Responsiveness Instrument | Amankwaa et al. 28 | 22 items—how the parent feels about their infant and an appraisal of the infant’s responses—involves rating items, for example ‘I believe I can comfort my baby’ on how strongly the parent believes them to be true. 29 |
| Maternal Postnatal Attachment Questionnaire | Condon and Corkindale 25 | Attachment of the mother to her child after birth—four dimensions: pleasure in proximity, acceptance, tolerance and competence. 30 |
| Maternal Sensitivity Scale | Han 31 | 36 items—maternal sensitivity—maternal ratings on how likely they are to do something. 32 |
| Maternal Separation Anxiety Scale | Hock et al. 33 | Mother’s feelings when she is separated from her infant—examines mother’s level of sadness, guilt and worry. 34 |
| Montreal Fathers’ Involvement Scale | Paquette et al. 35 | 47 items—father’s involvement—six different scales: emotional support, opening to the world, basic care, physical play, evocations and discipline. 35 |
| Myself as a Mother and My Baby Scale | Walker 36 | Two different dimensions—the mother’s evaluation of how she is developing as a parent and how the mother evaluates her infant—7-point semantic differential scale and adjective pairs, for example kind–cruel and difficult–easy. 37 |
| Parental Responsibility Scale | McBride and Mills 38 | 14 items—parental responsibility—parents rate the degree to which they are responsible for tasks, such as making baby-sitting agreements. 39 |
| Parent/Caregiver Involvement Scale | Farran 40 | 11 items—parental involvement behaviour—dimensions of quality and appropriateness of the behaviour. 41 |
| Parent–Child Relationships Questionnaire | Furman and Giberson 42 | 40 items—qualities found in the parent–child relationship—five factors: personal relationship–companionship and intimacy, warmth–nurturance and affection, disciplinary warmth–praise, prosocial behaviours and shared decisions making, power assertion—quarrelling and forceful punishment and possessiveness–control and protectiveness. 43 |
| Parenting Stress Index/Short Form | Abidin 44 | 36 items—degree and cause of stress in a parent–child relationship—three subscales; parental distress, parent–child dysfunctional interaction and difficult child. 45 |
| Postpartum Bonding Questionnaire | Brockington et al. 46 | 25 items—quality of mother–infant interaction—mother’s attachment responses to her infant, for example rating how often the baby makes the mother feel anxious. 47 |
| Prenatal Attachment Inventory | Muller 48 | 21 items—maternal attachment to a child before it is born—mothers indicate how often they have affectionate thoughts or behave affectionately towards the foetus. 49 |
| Separation–Individuation Process Inventory | Christenson and Wilson 50 | Separation–individuation used in mothers while they are pregnant—mothers rate statements as to how accurate they are in relation to themselves. 34 |
| Measure name | Main reference | Measure description and issues with validity/reliability |
| Adult Adolescent Parenting Inventory | Bavolek 16 | 36 items—parenting attitudes—empathy towards the children’s needs and parental expectations of the child’s development. 17 |
| Antenatal Attachment Questionnaire | Condon 18 | 2D—mother–foetal attachment—how much time the mother spends thinking about the foetus, and degree of tenderness, affection and protectiveness. 19 |
| Child Abuse Potential Inventory | Milner 20 | 77 items—child abuse potential—parental distress, rigidity, unhappiness, problems with child and self, problems with family and problems with others. 21 |
| Father Involvement with Child | Pederson et al. 22 | 14 items, paternal involvement in child’s life: feeding, dressing and playing with their child. 23 |
| Intimate Bond Measure | Wilhelm and Parker 24 | 24 items—perceived quality of partner relationship—affection and consideration in the care subscale, and criticism and domination in the control subscale. 25 |
| Maternal–Fetal Attachment Measure | Cranley 26 | 24 items—maternal attachment to their unborn child—five different domains: differentiation of self from foetus, interaction with the foetus, attributing characteristics to the foetus, giving of self and role taking. 27 |
| Maternal Infant Responsiveness Instrument | Amankwaa et al. 28 | 22 items—how the parent feels about their infant and an appraisal of the infant’s responses—involves rating items, for example ‘I believe I can comfort my baby’ on how strongly the parent believes them to be true. 29 |
| Maternal Postnatal Attachment Questionnaire | Condon and Corkindale 25 | Attachment of the mother to her child after birth—four dimensions: pleasure in proximity, acceptance, tolerance and competence. 30 |
| Maternal Sensitivity Scale | Han 31 | 36 items—maternal sensitivity—maternal ratings on how likely they are to do something. 32 |
| Maternal Separation Anxiety Scale | Hock et al. 33 | Mother’s feelings when she is separated from her infant—examines mother’s level of sadness, guilt and worry. 34 |
| Montreal Fathers’ Involvement Scale | Paquette et al. 35 | 47 items—father’s involvement—six different scales: emotional support, opening to the world, basic care, physical play, evocations and discipline. 35 |
| Myself as a Mother and My Baby Scale | Walker 36 | Two different dimensions—the mother’s evaluation of how she is developing as a parent and how the mother evaluates her infant—7-point semantic differential scale and adjective pairs, for example kind–cruel and difficult–easy. 37 |
| Parental Responsibility Scale | McBride and Mills 38 | 14 items—parental responsibility—parents rate the degree to which they are responsible for tasks, such as making baby-sitting agreements. 39 |
| Parent/Caregiver Involvement Scale | Farran 40 | 11 items—parental involvement behaviour—dimensions of quality and appropriateness of the behaviour. 41 |
| Parent–Child Relationships Questionnaire | Furman and Giberson 42 | 40 items—qualities found in the parent–child relationship—five factors: personal relationship–companionship and intimacy, warmth–nurturance and affection, disciplinary warmth–praise, prosocial behaviours and shared decisions making, power assertion—quarrelling and forceful punishment and possessiveness–control and protectiveness. 43 |
| Parenting Stress Index/Short Form | Abidin 44 | 36 items—degree and cause of stress in a parent–child relationship—three subscales; parental distress, parent–child dysfunctional interaction and difficult child. 45 |
| Postpartum Bonding Questionnaire | Brockington et al. 46 | 25 items—quality of mother–infant interaction—mother’s attachment responses to her infant, for example rating how often the baby makes the mother feel anxious. 47 |
| Prenatal Attachment Inventory | Muller 48 | 21 items—maternal attachment to a child before it is born—mothers indicate how often they have affectionate thoughts or behave affectionately towards the foetus. 49 |
| Separation–Individuation Process Inventory | Christenson and Wilson 50 | Separation–individuation used in mothers while they are pregnant—mothers rate statements as to how accurate they are in relation to themselves. 34 |
Of the parent–child relationship measures, the most commonly used measures were the PSI and the Child Abuse Potential Inventory.
Table 2 displays the parental practices and discipline measures. These measures assess interactional patterns of behaviours, including harsh and inconsistent discipline.
Parental practices and discipline measures
| Measurement | Main reference | Measure description and issues with validity/reliability |
| Alabama Parenting Questionnaire | Shelton et al. 51 | Parenting practices—focussing on positive parenting, inconsistent discipline and poor supervision. 52 |
| Authoritarianism Measure | Uhde 53 | 8 items—authoritarianism in parenting—two components: intolerance of ambiguity and perception of parents as the primary source of knowledge and power over their children. 54 |
| Child Rearing Practice Report | Deković et al. 55 | 29 items—authoritative and authoritarian styles of child rearing—rational guiding of the child and authoritarian control and supervision of the child. 56 |
| Conflict Tactics Scale (Parent–child version) | Straus 57 | How often a mother acts out different behaviours ranging from non-violent discipline to psychologically and physically abusive acts and indicators of neglect. 58 |
| Parental Anger Inventory | Hansen and Sedlar 59 | A mother’s child abuse potential—anger experienced by a parent in different situations. 60 |
| Parental Authority Questionnaire (PAQ-R) | Reitman et al. 61 | 30 items—parenting style—three scales; authoritarian scale, authoritative scale and permissive scale. 61 |
| Parental Behaviour Checklist | Fox 62 | 100 items—how parents are raising their children—subscales: expectations, discipline and nurturing. 62 |
| Parental Cognitions and Conduct Toward the Infant Scale (PACOTIS) | Boivin et al. 63 | 28 items—cognitions and behaviours relating to a mother’s interactions with her infant—three aspects of parenting: parental self-efficacy, perceived parental impact and parental hostile–reactive behaviours. 64 |
| Parental Control Scale | Greenberger 65 | 39 items—parental control—disciplinary style, maternal responsiveness and degree of control over the child. 66 |
| Parental Locus of Control Scale | Campis et al. 67 | 47 items (30 in short form)—locus of control in the relationship between a parent and a child. 68 |
| Parental Response to Misbehaviour Scale | Holden and Zambarano 69 | How parents respond to their children when they misbehave—parents report how often they use each of the 12 different disciplinary responses given in an average week. 70 |
| Parent Practices Scale | Strayhorn and Weidman 71 | 34 items—parents’ patterns of interaction with their preschool children–parent rates how often behaviours occur such as the child doing something that brings the parent pleasure. |
| Parenting Alliance Measure | Konold and Abidin 72 | 20 items—the strength of the alliance between parents of children aged 1–19 years—parents rate agreement with items. 72 |
| Parenting Styles and Dimensions Questionnaire | Robinson et al. 73 | 32 items—parenting behaviour—three different factors: authoritative parenting style, authoritarian parenting style and permissive parenting style. 74 |
| Parenting Daily Hassles Scale | Crnic and Greenberg 75 | 15 items—parenting stress-parents rate the frequency and intensity of daily events in caring for children. 76 The Parenting Events Questionnaire (PEQ) is an additional measure that has been adapted from the Parenting Daily Hassles. The PEQ is a 20-item scale that examines daily stress that people experience with parenting. 77 |
| Parenting Scale | Arnold et al. 78 | 30 items—dysfunctional parenting styles—three subscales: laxness (permissiveness), over-reactivity (authoritarian parenting, anger, meanness, irritability) and verbosity (use of long reprimands and over reliance on talking). 79 |
| Parent Behaviour Inventory | Lovejoy et al. 80 | Parenting behaviour—two broad dimensions of parenting—support/engagement and hostility/coercion–self-report or observational measure. 80 |
| Parent Problem Checklist | Dadds and Powell 81 | 16 items—conflict between parents over child rearing practices—parent’s ability to co-operate and work together as part of a family. 60 |
| Parent Protection Scale | Thomasgard et al. 82 | 25 items—protective parenting—parents rate the degree to which the statement is descriptive of their behaviour with their child. 45 |
| Toddler Care Questionnaire | Gross and Rocissano 83 | 37 items—parents rate their confidence in their abilities to perform different parenting tasks when looking after their toddlers. 60 |
| Measurement | Main reference | Measure description and issues with validity/reliability |
| Alabama Parenting Questionnaire | Shelton et al. 51 | Parenting practices—focussing on positive parenting, inconsistent discipline and poor supervision. 52 |
| Authoritarianism Measure | Uhde 53 | 8 items—authoritarianism in parenting—two components: intolerance of ambiguity and perception of parents as the primary source of knowledge and power over their children. 54 |
| Child Rearing Practice Report | Deković et al. 55 | 29 items—authoritative and authoritarian styles of child rearing—rational guiding of the child and authoritarian control and supervision of the child. 56 |
| Conflict Tactics Scale (Parent–child version) | Straus 57 | How often a mother acts out different behaviours ranging from non-violent discipline to psychologically and physically abusive acts and indicators of neglect. 58 |
| Parental Anger Inventory | Hansen and Sedlar 59 | A mother’s child abuse potential—anger experienced by a parent in different situations. 60 |
| Parental Authority Questionnaire (PAQ-R) | Reitman et al. 61 | 30 items—parenting style—three scales; authoritarian scale, authoritative scale and permissive scale. 61 |
| Parental Behaviour Checklist | Fox 62 | 100 items—how parents are raising their children—subscales: expectations, discipline and nurturing. 62 |
| Parental Cognitions and Conduct Toward the Infant Scale (PACOTIS) | Boivin et al. 63 | 28 items—cognitions and behaviours relating to a mother’s interactions with her infant—three aspects of parenting: parental self-efficacy, perceived parental impact and parental hostile–reactive behaviours. 64 |
| Parental Control Scale | Greenberger 65 | 39 items—parental control—disciplinary style, maternal responsiveness and degree of control over the child. 66 |
| Parental Locus of Control Scale | Campis et al. 67 | 47 items (30 in short form)—locus of control in the relationship between a parent and a child. 68 |
| Parental Response to Misbehaviour Scale | Holden and Zambarano 69 | How parents respond to their children when they misbehave—parents report how often they use each of the 12 different disciplinary responses given in an average week. 70 |
| Parent Practices Scale | Strayhorn and Weidman 71 | 34 items—parents’ patterns of interaction with their preschool children–parent rates how often behaviours occur such as the child doing something that brings the parent pleasure. |
| Parenting Alliance Measure | Konold and Abidin 72 | 20 items—the strength of the alliance between parents of children aged 1–19 years—parents rate agreement with items. 72 |
| Parenting Styles and Dimensions Questionnaire | Robinson et al. 73 | 32 items—parenting behaviour—three different factors: authoritative parenting style, authoritarian parenting style and permissive parenting style. 74 |
| Parenting Daily Hassles Scale | Crnic and Greenberg 75 | 15 items—parenting stress-parents rate the frequency and intensity of daily events in caring for children. 76 The Parenting Events Questionnaire (PEQ) is an additional measure that has been adapted from the Parenting Daily Hassles. The PEQ is a 20-item scale that examines daily stress that people experience with parenting. 77 |
| Parenting Scale | Arnold et al. 78 | 30 items—dysfunctional parenting styles—three subscales: laxness (permissiveness), over-reactivity (authoritarian parenting, anger, meanness, irritability) and verbosity (use of long reprimands and over reliance on talking). 79 |
| Parent Behaviour Inventory | Lovejoy et al. 80 | Parenting behaviour—two broad dimensions of parenting—support/engagement and hostility/coercion–self-report or observational measure. 80 |
| Parent Problem Checklist | Dadds and Powell 81 | 16 items—conflict between parents over child rearing practices—parent’s ability to co-operate and work together as part of a family. 60 |
| Parent Protection Scale | Thomasgard et al. 82 | 25 items—protective parenting—parents rate the degree to which the statement is descriptive of their behaviour with their child. 45 |
| Toddler Care Questionnaire | Gross and Rocissano 83 | 37 items—parents rate their confidence in their abilities to perform different parenting tasks when looking after their toddlers. 60 |
Parental practices and discipline measures
| Measurement | Main reference | Measure description and issues with validity/reliability |
| Alabama Parenting Questionnaire | Shelton et al. 51 | Parenting practices—focussing on positive parenting, inconsistent discipline and poor supervision. 52 |
| Authoritarianism Measure | Uhde 53 | 8 items—authoritarianism in parenting—two components: intolerance of ambiguity and perception of parents as the primary source of knowledge and power over their children. 54 |
| Child Rearing Practice Report | Deković et al. 55 | 29 items—authoritative and authoritarian styles of child rearing—rational guiding of the child and authoritarian control and supervision of the child. 56 |
| Conflict Tactics Scale (Parent–child version) | Straus 57 | How often a mother acts out different behaviours ranging from non-violent discipline to psychologically and physically abusive acts and indicators of neglect. 58 |
| Parental Anger Inventory | Hansen and Sedlar 59 | A mother’s child abuse potential—anger experienced by a parent in different situations. 60 |
| Parental Authority Questionnaire (PAQ-R) | Reitman et al. 61 | 30 items—parenting style—three scales; authoritarian scale, authoritative scale and permissive scale. 61 |
| Parental Behaviour Checklist | Fox 62 | 100 items—how parents are raising their children—subscales: expectations, discipline and nurturing. 62 |
| Parental Cognitions and Conduct Toward the Infant Scale (PACOTIS) | Boivin et al. 63 | 28 items—cognitions and behaviours relating to a mother’s interactions with her infant—three aspects of parenting: parental self-efficacy, perceived parental impact and parental hostile–reactive behaviours. 64 |
| Parental Control Scale | Greenberger 65 | 39 items—parental control—disciplinary style, maternal responsiveness and degree of control over the child. 66 |
| Parental Locus of Control Scale | Campis et al. 67 | 47 items (30 in short form)—locus of control in the relationship between a parent and a child. 68 |
| Parental Response to Misbehaviour Scale | Holden and Zambarano 69 | How parents respond to their children when they misbehave—parents report how often they use each of the 12 different disciplinary responses given in an average week. 70 |
| Parent Practices Scale | Strayhorn and Weidman 71 | 34 items—parents’ patterns of interaction with their preschool children–parent rates how often behaviours occur such as the child doing something that brings the parent pleasure. |
| Parenting Alliance Measure | Konold and Abidin 72 | 20 items—the strength of the alliance between parents of children aged 1–19 years—parents rate agreement with items. 72 |
| Parenting Styles and Dimensions Questionnaire | Robinson et al. 73 | 32 items—parenting behaviour—three different factors: authoritative parenting style, authoritarian parenting style and permissive parenting style. 74 |
| Parenting Daily Hassles Scale | Crnic and Greenberg 75 | 15 items—parenting stress-parents rate the frequency and intensity of daily events in caring for children. 76 The Parenting Events Questionnaire (PEQ) is an additional measure that has been adapted from the Parenting Daily Hassles. The PEQ is a 20-item scale that examines daily stress that people experience with parenting. 77 |
| Parenting Scale | Arnold et al. 78 | 30 items—dysfunctional parenting styles—three subscales: laxness (permissiveness), over-reactivity (authoritarian parenting, anger, meanness, irritability) and verbosity (use of long reprimands and over reliance on talking). 79 |
| Parent Behaviour Inventory | Lovejoy et al. 80 | Parenting behaviour—two broad dimensions of parenting—support/engagement and hostility/coercion–self-report or observational measure. 80 |
| Parent Problem Checklist | Dadds and Powell 81 | 16 items—conflict between parents over child rearing practices—parent’s ability to co-operate and work together as part of a family. 60 |
| Parent Protection Scale | Thomasgard et al. 82 | 25 items—protective parenting—parents rate the degree to which the statement is descriptive of their behaviour with their child. 45 |
| Toddler Care Questionnaire | Gross and Rocissano 83 | 37 items—parents rate their confidence in their abilities to perform different parenting tasks when looking after their toddlers. 60 |
| Measurement | Main reference | Measure description and issues with validity/reliability |
| Alabama Parenting Questionnaire | Shelton et al. 51 | Parenting practices—focussing on positive parenting, inconsistent discipline and poor supervision. 52 |
| Authoritarianism Measure | Uhde 53 | 8 items—authoritarianism in parenting—two components: intolerance of ambiguity and perception of parents as the primary source of knowledge and power over their children. 54 |
| Child Rearing Practice Report | Deković et al. 55 | 29 items—authoritative and authoritarian styles of child rearing—rational guiding of the child and authoritarian control and supervision of the child. 56 |
| Conflict Tactics Scale (Parent–child version) | Straus 57 | How often a mother acts out different behaviours ranging from non-violent discipline to psychologically and physically abusive acts and indicators of neglect. 58 |
| Parental Anger Inventory | Hansen and Sedlar 59 | A mother’s child abuse potential—anger experienced by a parent in different situations. 60 |
| Parental Authority Questionnaire (PAQ-R) | Reitman et al. 61 | 30 items—parenting style—three scales; authoritarian scale, authoritative scale and permissive scale. 61 |
| Parental Behaviour Checklist | Fox 62 | 100 items—how parents are raising their children—subscales: expectations, discipline and nurturing. 62 |
| Parental Cognitions and Conduct Toward the Infant Scale (PACOTIS) | Boivin et al. 63 | 28 items—cognitions and behaviours relating to a mother’s interactions with her infant—three aspects of parenting: parental self-efficacy, perceived parental impact and parental hostile–reactive behaviours. 64 |
| Parental Control Scale | Greenberger 65 | 39 items—parental control—disciplinary style, maternal responsiveness and degree of control over the child. 66 |
| Parental Locus of Control Scale | Campis et al. 67 | 47 items (30 in short form)—locus of control in the relationship between a parent and a child. 68 |
| Parental Response to Misbehaviour Scale | Holden and Zambarano 69 | How parents respond to their children when they misbehave—parents report how often they use each of the 12 different disciplinary responses given in an average week. 70 |
| Parent Practices Scale | Strayhorn and Weidman 71 | 34 items—parents’ patterns of interaction with their preschool children–parent rates how often behaviours occur such as the child doing something that brings the parent pleasure. |
| Parenting Alliance Measure | Konold and Abidin 72 | 20 items—the strength of the alliance between parents of children aged 1–19 years—parents rate agreement with items. 72 |
| Parenting Styles and Dimensions Questionnaire | Robinson et al. 73 | 32 items—parenting behaviour—three different factors: authoritative parenting style, authoritarian parenting style and permissive parenting style. 74 |
| Parenting Daily Hassles Scale | Crnic and Greenberg 75 | 15 items—parenting stress-parents rate the frequency and intensity of daily events in caring for children. 76 The Parenting Events Questionnaire (PEQ) is an additional measure that has been adapted from the Parenting Daily Hassles. The PEQ is a 20-item scale that examines daily stress that people experience with parenting. 77 |
| Parenting Scale | Arnold et al. 78 | 30 items—dysfunctional parenting styles—three subscales: laxness (permissiveness), over-reactivity (authoritarian parenting, anger, meanness, irritability) and verbosity (use of long reprimands and over reliance on talking). 79 |
| Parent Behaviour Inventory | Lovejoy et al. 80 | Parenting behaviour—two broad dimensions of parenting—support/engagement and hostility/coercion–self-report or observational measure. 80 |
| Parent Problem Checklist | Dadds and Powell 81 | 16 items—conflict between parents over child rearing practices—parent’s ability to co-operate and work together as part of a family. 60 |
| Parent Protection Scale | Thomasgard et al. 82 | 25 items—protective parenting—parents rate the degree to which the statement is descriptive of their behaviour with their child. 45 |
| Toddler Care Questionnaire | Gross and Rocissano 83 | 37 items—parents rate their confidence in their abilities to perform different parenting tasks when looking after their toddlers. 60 |
Of the parental practices and discipline measures, the most commonly used were the Parenting Scale, the Parenting Daily Hassles Scale and the Conflict Tactics Scale, parent–child version (CTSPC).
Table 3 displays the parental belief measures. These measures assess the way in which a person thinks about being a parent and their beliefs about their particular skills.
Parental belief measures
| Measurement | Main reference | Measure description and issues with validity/reliability |
| Battered Fetus Scale | Condon 18 | How often a mother has thoughts of irritation towards the foetus, worries about losing control over one’s temper and hurting the child and experiencing urges to harm and punish the fetus. 84 |
| Childbearing Attitudes Questionnaire | Ruble et al. 85 | 60 items—attitudes towards pregnancy and parenthood—parents rate their agreement with different statements, for example on body image, maternal worries, information seeking and negative aspects of caretaking. 86 |
| Cognitive Appraisal of Motherhood | Folkman and Lazarus 87 | 17 items—how mother’s think about how they cope with different tasks—three theoretic factors: threat appraisal, challenge appraisal and the appraisal of abilities to deal with a stressful event—mothers rate how often they appraise motherhood tasks in the way described. 88 |
| Family Satisfaction Scale | Olson et al. 89 | 14 items—marital and family systems—two subscales: family cohesion and family adaptability. 90 |
| Gratification in the Mothering Role | Russell 91 | What a mother enjoys in her maternal role—mother’s rate the extent to which they agree to different statements, for example ‘new appreciation for my own parents’. 37 |
| How I feel About My Baby Now | Leifer 92 | 8 items—maternal attachment—mother’s rate their agreement with items, for example ‘I feel drained by my baby’. 93 |
| Ideas about Parenting Scale | Cowan and Cowan 94 | 46 items—perceived difference in the parenting belief system—parents rate the extent to which they agree with different statements about parenting and their perception of their partner’s beliefs includes areas such as child rearing practices, confidence and uncertainty about child rearing. Although this scale demonstrated evidence of reliability and validity in women, this was not found in men. 95 |
| Infant Care Questionnaire | Secco 96 | The mother’s perception of her abilities and competence in providing for her infant. 96 |
| Inventory of Parent Experience | Crnic et al. 97 | Satisfaction with parenting—parents rate items on satisfaction, for example ‘How do you feel about the chores that are part of child care?’ Also includes questions assessing the quality of social support that the parent receives. 98 |
| Lang and Goulet Hardiness Scale | Lang et al. 99 | Hardiness in parents who have suffered the death of a foetus/infant—three components: sense of personal control over the outcome of life events and hardships such as the death of a foetus/infant, an active orientation towards meeting the challenges brought on by the loss and a belief in the ability to make sense of one’s own existence following such a tragedy. 99 |
| Maternal Identity Scale | Kho 100 | 17 items—maternal identity—two different components of maternal identity; self-identity as a mother and identification with the baby. 32 |
| Maternal Self-Efficacy Scale | Teti and Gelfand 101 | How mothers perceive themselves as parents—mothers rate how effective they feel they are on specific tasks when caring for their infant, for example feeding and playing. 102 |
| Maternal Self-Report Inventory | Shea and Tronick 103 | 18 items—maternal self-esteem—mother’s rate how true they feel different items regarding parenting issues are tapping into the mother’s feeling of competence. 77 |
| Modernity Scale | Schaefer and Edgerton 104 | 30 items—child rearing beliefs—higher scores indicate more child-centred beliefs. 105 |
| Mother Treatment Scale of the Parental Image Differential | Ginsburg et al. 106 | 15 items—a mother’s perception of her parenting style—9 items measure maternal concern and the remaining 6 measure maternal restrictiveness. 107 |
| Neonatal Perception Inventory | Broussard and Hartber 108 | A mother’s expectations of their own infant in comparison to an average infant—domains of feeding, spitting up/vomiting, sleeping, bowel movements, settling into predictable patterns, entertaining themselves and needing to be held or carried about. 86 |
| Parenting Sense of Competence | Johnston and Mash 109 | 17 items—how confident a parent is in their parental role—measures satisfaction (extent of frustration, anxiety, motivation) and efficacy (competence, problem-solving ability and capability). 79 |
| Parent Opinion Questionnaire | Azar et al. 110 | 80 items—unrealistic developmental expectations that parents hold concerning children—parents have to agree or disagree on items, for example ‘Most of the time a 4-year-old can choose the right clothing for the weather and then get him or herself off to school’. 111 |
| Paternal Attitude Scale | Boyd 112 | 38 statements—father’s attitudes towards participation in parenting activities—rate statements, for example ‘I am just as capable of giving out baby a bath as my wife’ as to how much they agree with them. 112 |
| Parental Attitude Research Instrument | Schafer and Bell 113 | 45 items—parental attitudes of warmth and authoritarianism—parents rate their agreement with statements. 114 |
| Parental Attitudes Towards Childbearing | Easterbrooks and Goldberg 115 | 52 items—parent’s attitudes towards child rearing—parents rate their level of agreement with items, for example fathers’ warmth and aggravation in relation to the child. 23 |
| Parental Efficacy Questionnaire | Inspired by Caprara, 1998, see for details, van Ijzendoorn et al. 116 | 22 items—parental efficacy—parents’ feelings of competence in child rearing, in particular parents’ ability to empathize with the child’s feelings and the way they act when under stress. 56 |
| Parental Expectations and Perception of Parenthood Adjustment | Kach and McGhee 117 | Open–ended questions and 29 statements—prenatal and postnatal version, administered before and after the birth of the baby—examining problems, gratifications and feelings about parenthood, which are rated for agreement. 118 |
| Parental Satisfaction Scale | Pistrang 119 | Parental meaning and satisfaction—parents rate their agreement with items, such as ‘caring for my baby makes me feel good about myself’. 120 |
| Parent Attribution Test | Bugental et al. 121 | Perceived balance of the control that the parent thinks there is between themselves and their child—contains a child control over failure scale and an adult control over failure scale, the difference between the results of the two scales provides the perceived control over failure scale. 68 |
| Parent Expectations Survey | Reece 122 | 25 items— parenting self-efficacy—mothers rate items on how confident they feel in their ability to conduct certain tasks, for example feeding and soothing a new baby as well as how the mother is managing her lifestyle. 123 |
| Parenting Self-Agency Measure | Dumka et al. 124 | The degree to which a parent views themselves as an instrument of their own actions. 125 |
| Perceived Maternal Parenting Self-Efficacy Tool | Barnes and Adamson-Macedo 126 | 20 items—a mother’s perception of their ability to parent—four subscales: care taking procedures, evoking behaviour, reading behaviour or signalling and situational beliefs. 126 |
| Personal Expectations about Parenting | Stiober and Houghton 127 | 30 items—parenting expectations—parents evaluate statements, for example ‘Having a baby makes a person frightened and lonely’ and, ‘A baby protects a mother from feeling lonely’. 127 |
| Pregnancy Anxiety Scale | Levin 128 | 10 items—anxiety during pregnancy—pregnancy, childbirth and hospitalization. 128 |
| Pregnancy Related Anxieties Questionnaire—Revised | Huizink 129 | 10 items—pregnancy anxiety—three subscales: fear of giving birth, fear of bearing a physically or mentally handicapped child and concern about one’s own appearance. 130 |
| Satisfaction with Parenting Scale | Ragozin et al. 131 | 12 items—parental satisfaction—two subscales: satisfaction in the parenting role (such as measuring time away from the baby and mother’s satisfaction with infant care) and parental pleasure in the baby (such as doubts about maternal competence and mother’s degree of pleasure in child care chores). 132 |
| Self-Efficacy for Parenting Tasks Index | Coleman 133 | Parenting self-efficacy—includes examining the constructs of emotional availability, nurturing, discipline and limit setting. 134 |
| Self-Report Co-Parenting Scale | McHale 135 | How often a parent does something to promote a sense of family warmth, collaboration and cohesion. 136 |
| Subjective Experience of Parenting Scale | Benjamin et al. 137 | 128 items—parenting characteristics—parents had to rate how often they engaged in various parenting behaviours, for example attachment behaviours, discipline, regulation of anger and behaviours that promoted the child’s development. 137 |
| Transition to Maternal Role Scale | Adapted from Blank’s 138 and Mercer’s 139 14-item maternal behaviour scales | 7 items—how a mother adapts to her maternal role—mother’s rate the level of difficulty experienced on different items, for example their enjoyment of motherhood. 140 |
| What Being the Parent of a New Baby is Like (WPL) | Pridham and Chang 141 | 25 items—parent’s perceptions of themselves as parents—three subscales: success (renamed evaluation in 1989), life change (added in 1989) and centrality. 142 |
| Measurement | Main reference | Measure description and issues with validity/reliability |
| Battered Fetus Scale | Condon 18 | How often a mother has thoughts of irritation towards the foetus, worries about losing control over one’s temper and hurting the child and experiencing urges to harm and punish the fetus. 84 |
| Childbearing Attitudes Questionnaire | Ruble et al. 85 | 60 items—attitudes towards pregnancy and parenthood—parents rate their agreement with different statements, for example on body image, maternal worries, information seeking and negative aspects of caretaking. 86 |
| Cognitive Appraisal of Motherhood | Folkman and Lazarus 87 | 17 items—how mother’s think about how they cope with different tasks—three theoretic factors: threat appraisal, challenge appraisal and the appraisal of abilities to deal with a stressful event—mothers rate how often they appraise motherhood tasks in the way described. 88 |
| Family Satisfaction Scale | Olson et al. 89 | 14 items—marital and family systems—two subscales: family cohesion and family adaptability. 90 |
| Gratification in the Mothering Role | Russell 91 | What a mother enjoys in her maternal role—mother’s rate the extent to which they agree to different statements, for example ‘new appreciation for my own parents’. 37 |
| How I feel About My Baby Now | Leifer 92 | 8 items—maternal attachment—mother’s rate their agreement with items, for example ‘I feel drained by my baby’. 93 |
| Ideas about Parenting Scale | Cowan and Cowan 94 | 46 items—perceived difference in the parenting belief system—parents rate the extent to which they agree with different statements about parenting and their perception of their partner’s beliefs includes areas such as child rearing practices, confidence and uncertainty about child rearing. Although this scale demonstrated evidence of reliability and validity in women, this was not found in men. 95 |
| Infant Care Questionnaire | Secco 96 | The mother’s perception of her abilities and competence in providing for her infant. 96 |
| Inventory of Parent Experience | Crnic et al. 97 | Satisfaction with parenting—parents rate items on satisfaction, for example ‘How do you feel about the chores that are part of child care?’ Also includes questions assessing the quality of social support that the parent receives. 98 |
| Lang and Goulet Hardiness Scale | Lang et al. 99 | Hardiness in parents who have suffered the death of a foetus/infant—three components: sense of personal control over the outcome of life events and hardships such as the death of a foetus/infant, an active orientation towards meeting the challenges brought on by the loss and a belief in the ability to make sense of one’s own existence following such a tragedy. 99 |
| Maternal Identity Scale | Kho 100 | 17 items—maternal identity—two different components of maternal identity; self-identity as a mother and identification with the baby. 32 |
| Maternal Self-Efficacy Scale | Teti and Gelfand 101 | How mothers perceive themselves as parents—mothers rate how effective they feel they are on specific tasks when caring for their infant, for example feeding and playing. 102 |
| Maternal Self-Report Inventory | Shea and Tronick 103 | 18 items—maternal self-esteem—mother’s rate how true they feel different items regarding parenting issues are tapping into the mother’s feeling of competence. 77 |
| Modernity Scale | Schaefer and Edgerton 104 | 30 items—child rearing beliefs—higher scores indicate more child-centred beliefs. 105 |
| Mother Treatment Scale of the Parental Image Differential | Ginsburg et al. 106 | 15 items—a mother’s perception of her parenting style—9 items measure maternal concern and the remaining 6 measure maternal restrictiveness. 107 |
| Neonatal Perception Inventory | Broussard and Hartber 108 | A mother’s expectations of their own infant in comparison to an average infant—domains of feeding, spitting up/vomiting, sleeping, bowel movements, settling into predictable patterns, entertaining themselves and needing to be held or carried about. 86 |
| Parenting Sense of Competence | Johnston and Mash 109 | 17 items—how confident a parent is in their parental role—measures satisfaction (extent of frustration, anxiety, motivation) and efficacy (competence, problem-solving ability and capability). 79 |
| Parent Opinion Questionnaire | Azar et al. 110 | 80 items—unrealistic developmental expectations that parents hold concerning children—parents have to agree or disagree on items, for example ‘Most of the time a 4-year-old can choose the right clothing for the weather and then get him or herself off to school’. 111 |
| Paternal Attitude Scale | Boyd 112 | 38 statements—father’s attitudes towards participation in parenting activities—rate statements, for example ‘I am just as capable of giving out baby a bath as my wife’ as to how much they agree with them. 112 |
| Parental Attitude Research Instrument | Schafer and Bell 113 | 45 items—parental attitudes of warmth and authoritarianism—parents rate their agreement with statements. 114 |
| Parental Attitudes Towards Childbearing | Easterbrooks and Goldberg 115 | 52 items—parent’s attitudes towards child rearing—parents rate their level of agreement with items, for example fathers’ warmth and aggravation in relation to the child. 23 |
| Parental Efficacy Questionnaire | Inspired by Caprara, 1998, see for details, van Ijzendoorn et al. 116 | 22 items—parental efficacy—parents’ feelings of competence in child rearing, in particular parents’ ability to empathize with the child’s feelings and the way they act when under stress. 56 |
| Parental Expectations and Perception of Parenthood Adjustment | Kach and McGhee 117 | Open–ended questions and 29 statements—prenatal and postnatal version, administered before and after the birth of the baby—examining problems, gratifications and feelings about parenthood, which are rated for agreement. 118 |
| Parental Satisfaction Scale | Pistrang 119 | Parental meaning and satisfaction—parents rate their agreement with items, such as ‘caring for my baby makes me feel good about myself’. 120 |
| Parent Attribution Test | Bugental et al. 121 | Perceived balance of the control that the parent thinks there is between themselves and their child—contains a child control over failure scale and an adult control over failure scale, the difference between the results of the two scales provides the perceived control over failure scale. 68 |
| Parent Expectations Survey | Reece 122 | 25 items— parenting self-efficacy—mothers rate items on how confident they feel in their ability to conduct certain tasks, for example feeding and soothing a new baby as well as how the mother is managing her lifestyle. 123 |
| Parenting Self-Agency Measure | Dumka et al. 124 | The degree to which a parent views themselves as an instrument of their own actions. 125 |
| Perceived Maternal Parenting Self-Efficacy Tool | Barnes and Adamson-Macedo 126 | 20 items—a mother’s perception of their ability to parent—four subscales: care taking procedures, evoking behaviour, reading behaviour or signalling and situational beliefs. 126 |
| Personal Expectations about Parenting | Stiober and Houghton 127 | 30 items—parenting expectations—parents evaluate statements, for example ‘Having a baby makes a person frightened and lonely’ and, ‘A baby protects a mother from feeling lonely’. 127 |
| Pregnancy Anxiety Scale | Levin 128 | 10 items—anxiety during pregnancy—pregnancy, childbirth and hospitalization. 128 |
| Pregnancy Related Anxieties Questionnaire—Revised | Huizink 129 | 10 items—pregnancy anxiety—three subscales: fear of giving birth, fear of bearing a physically or mentally handicapped child and concern about one’s own appearance. 130 |
| Satisfaction with Parenting Scale | Ragozin et al. 131 | 12 items—parental satisfaction—two subscales: satisfaction in the parenting role (such as measuring time away from the baby and mother’s satisfaction with infant care) and parental pleasure in the baby (such as doubts about maternal competence and mother’s degree of pleasure in child care chores). 132 |
| Self-Efficacy for Parenting Tasks Index | Coleman 133 | Parenting self-efficacy—includes examining the constructs of emotional availability, nurturing, discipline and limit setting. 134 |
| Self-Report Co-Parenting Scale | McHale 135 | How often a parent does something to promote a sense of family warmth, collaboration and cohesion. 136 |
| Subjective Experience of Parenting Scale | Benjamin et al. 137 | 128 items—parenting characteristics—parents had to rate how often they engaged in various parenting behaviours, for example attachment behaviours, discipline, regulation of anger and behaviours that promoted the child’s development. 137 |
| Transition to Maternal Role Scale | Adapted from Blank’s 138 and Mercer’s 139 14-item maternal behaviour scales | 7 items—how a mother adapts to her maternal role—mother’s rate the level of difficulty experienced on different items, for example their enjoyment of motherhood. 140 |
| What Being the Parent of a New Baby is Like (WPL) | Pridham and Chang 141 | 25 items—parent’s perceptions of themselves as parents—three subscales: success (renamed evaluation in 1989), life change (added in 1989) and centrality. 142 |
Parental belief measures
| Measurement | Main reference | Measure description and issues with validity/reliability |
| Battered Fetus Scale | Condon 18 | How often a mother has thoughts of irritation towards the foetus, worries about losing control over one’s temper and hurting the child and experiencing urges to harm and punish the fetus. 84 |
| Childbearing Attitudes Questionnaire | Ruble et al. 85 | 60 items—attitudes towards pregnancy and parenthood—parents rate their agreement with different statements, for example on body image, maternal worries, information seeking and negative aspects of caretaking. 86 |
| Cognitive Appraisal of Motherhood | Folkman and Lazarus 87 | 17 items—how mother’s think about how they cope with different tasks—three theoretic factors: threat appraisal, challenge appraisal and the appraisal of abilities to deal with a stressful event—mothers rate how often they appraise motherhood tasks in the way described. 88 |
| Family Satisfaction Scale | Olson et al. 89 | 14 items—marital and family systems—two subscales: family cohesion and family adaptability. 90 |
| Gratification in the Mothering Role | Russell 91 | What a mother enjoys in her maternal role—mother’s rate the extent to which they agree to different statements, for example ‘new appreciation for my own parents’. 37 |
| How I feel About My Baby Now | Leifer 92 | 8 items—maternal attachment—mother’s rate their agreement with items, for example ‘I feel drained by my baby’. 93 |
| Ideas about Parenting Scale | Cowan and Cowan 94 | 46 items—perceived difference in the parenting belief system—parents rate the extent to which they agree with different statements about parenting and their perception of their partner’s beliefs includes areas such as child rearing practices, confidence and uncertainty about child rearing. Although this scale demonstrated evidence of reliability and validity in women, this was not found in men. 95 |
| Infant Care Questionnaire | Secco 96 | The mother’s perception of her abilities and competence in providing for her infant. 96 |
| Inventory of Parent Experience | Crnic et al. 97 | Satisfaction with parenting—parents rate items on satisfaction, for example ‘How do you feel about the chores that are part of child care?’ Also includes questions assessing the quality of social support that the parent receives. 98 |
| Lang and Goulet Hardiness Scale | Lang et al. 99 | Hardiness in parents who have suffered the death of a foetus/infant—three components: sense of personal control over the outcome of life events and hardships such as the death of a foetus/infant, an active orientation towards meeting the challenges brought on by the loss and a belief in the ability to make sense of one’s own existence following such a tragedy. 99 |
| Maternal Identity Scale | Kho 100 | 17 items—maternal identity—two different components of maternal identity; self-identity as a mother and identification with the baby. 32 |
| Maternal Self-Efficacy Scale | Teti and Gelfand 101 | How mothers perceive themselves as parents—mothers rate how effective they feel they are on specific tasks when caring for their infant, for example feeding and playing. 102 |
| Maternal Self-Report Inventory | Shea and Tronick 103 | 18 items—maternal self-esteem—mother’s rate how true they feel different items regarding parenting issues are tapping into the mother’s feeling of competence. 77 |
| Modernity Scale | Schaefer and Edgerton 104 | 30 items—child rearing beliefs—higher scores indicate more child-centred beliefs. 105 |
| Mother Treatment Scale of the Parental Image Differential | Ginsburg et al. 106 | 15 items—a mother’s perception of her parenting style—9 items measure maternal concern and the remaining 6 measure maternal restrictiveness. 107 |
| Neonatal Perception Inventory | Broussard and Hartber 108 | A mother’s expectations of their own infant in comparison to an average infant—domains of feeding, spitting up/vomiting, sleeping, bowel movements, settling into predictable patterns, entertaining themselves and needing to be held or carried about. 86 |
| Parenting Sense of Competence | Johnston and Mash 109 | 17 items—how confident a parent is in their parental role—measures satisfaction (extent of frustration, anxiety, motivation) and efficacy (competence, problem-solving ability and capability). 79 |
| Parent Opinion Questionnaire | Azar et al. 110 | 80 items—unrealistic developmental expectations that parents hold concerning children—parents have to agree or disagree on items, for example ‘Most of the time a 4-year-old can choose the right clothing for the weather and then get him or herself off to school’. 111 |
| Paternal Attitude Scale | Boyd 112 | 38 statements—father’s attitudes towards participation in parenting activities—rate statements, for example ‘I am just as capable of giving out baby a bath as my wife’ as to how much they agree with them. 112 |
| Parental Attitude Research Instrument | Schafer and Bell 113 | 45 items—parental attitudes of warmth and authoritarianism—parents rate their agreement with statements. 114 |
| Parental Attitudes Towards Childbearing | Easterbrooks and Goldberg 115 | 52 items—parent’s attitudes towards child rearing—parents rate their level of agreement with items, for example fathers’ warmth and aggravation in relation to the child. 23 |
| Parental Efficacy Questionnaire | Inspired by Caprara, 1998, see for details, van Ijzendoorn et al. 116 | 22 items—parental efficacy—parents’ feelings of competence in child rearing, in particular parents’ ability to empathize with the child’s feelings and the way they act when under stress. 56 |
| Parental Expectations and Perception of Parenthood Adjustment | Kach and McGhee 117 | Open–ended questions and 29 statements—prenatal and postnatal version, administered before and after the birth of the baby—examining problems, gratifications and feelings about parenthood, which are rated for agreement. 118 |
| Parental Satisfaction Scale | Pistrang 119 | Parental meaning and satisfaction—parents rate their agreement with items, such as ‘caring for my baby makes me feel good about myself’. 120 |
| Parent Attribution Test | Bugental et al. 121 | Perceived balance of the control that the parent thinks there is between themselves and their child—contains a child control over failure scale and an adult control over failure scale, the difference between the results of the two scales provides the perceived control over failure scale. 68 |
| Parent Expectations Survey | Reece 122 | 25 items— parenting self-efficacy—mothers rate items on how confident they feel in their ability to conduct certain tasks, for example feeding and soothing a new baby as well as how the mother is managing her lifestyle. 123 |
| Parenting Self-Agency Measure | Dumka et al. 124 | The degree to which a parent views themselves as an instrument of their own actions. 125 |
| Perceived Maternal Parenting Self-Efficacy Tool | Barnes and Adamson-Macedo 126 | 20 items—a mother’s perception of their ability to parent—four subscales: care taking procedures, evoking behaviour, reading behaviour or signalling and situational beliefs. 126 |
| Personal Expectations about Parenting | Stiober and Houghton 127 | 30 items—parenting expectations—parents evaluate statements, for example ‘Having a baby makes a person frightened and lonely’ and, ‘A baby protects a mother from feeling lonely’. 127 |
| Pregnancy Anxiety Scale | Levin 128 | 10 items—anxiety during pregnancy—pregnancy, childbirth and hospitalization. 128 |
| Pregnancy Related Anxieties Questionnaire—Revised | Huizink 129 | 10 items—pregnancy anxiety—three subscales: fear of giving birth, fear of bearing a physically or mentally handicapped child and concern about one’s own appearance. 130 |
| Satisfaction with Parenting Scale | Ragozin et al. 131 | 12 items—parental satisfaction—two subscales: satisfaction in the parenting role (such as measuring time away from the baby and mother’s satisfaction with infant care) and parental pleasure in the baby (such as doubts about maternal competence and mother’s degree of pleasure in child care chores). 132 |
| Self-Efficacy for Parenting Tasks Index | Coleman 133 | Parenting self-efficacy—includes examining the constructs of emotional availability, nurturing, discipline and limit setting. 134 |
| Self-Report Co-Parenting Scale | McHale 135 | How often a parent does something to promote a sense of family warmth, collaboration and cohesion. 136 |
| Subjective Experience of Parenting Scale | Benjamin et al. 137 | 128 items—parenting characteristics—parents had to rate how often they engaged in various parenting behaviours, for example attachment behaviours, discipline, regulation of anger and behaviours that promoted the child’s development. 137 |
| Transition to Maternal Role Scale | Adapted from Blank’s 138 and Mercer’s 139 14-item maternal behaviour scales | 7 items—how a mother adapts to her maternal role—mother’s rate the level of difficulty experienced on different items, for example their enjoyment of motherhood. 140 |
| What Being the Parent of a New Baby is Like (WPL) | Pridham and Chang 141 | 25 items—parent’s perceptions of themselves as parents—three subscales: success (renamed evaluation in 1989), life change (added in 1989) and centrality. 142 |
| Measurement | Main reference | Measure description and issues with validity/reliability |
| Battered Fetus Scale | Condon 18 | How often a mother has thoughts of irritation towards the foetus, worries about losing control over one’s temper and hurting the child and experiencing urges to harm and punish the fetus. 84 |
| Childbearing Attitudes Questionnaire | Ruble et al. 85 | 60 items—attitudes towards pregnancy and parenthood—parents rate their agreement with different statements, for example on body image, maternal worries, information seeking and negative aspects of caretaking. 86 |
| Cognitive Appraisal of Motherhood | Folkman and Lazarus 87 | 17 items—how mother’s think about how they cope with different tasks—three theoretic factors: threat appraisal, challenge appraisal and the appraisal of abilities to deal with a stressful event—mothers rate how often they appraise motherhood tasks in the way described. 88 |
| Family Satisfaction Scale | Olson et al. 89 | 14 items—marital and family systems—two subscales: family cohesion and family adaptability. 90 |
| Gratification in the Mothering Role | Russell 91 | What a mother enjoys in her maternal role—mother’s rate the extent to which they agree to different statements, for example ‘new appreciation for my own parents’. 37 |
| How I feel About My Baby Now | Leifer 92 | 8 items—maternal attachment—mother’s rate their agreement with items, for example ‘I feel drained by my baby’. 93 |
| Ideas about Parenting Scale | Cowan and Cowan 94 | 46 items—perceived difference in the parenting belief system—parents rate the extent to which they agree with different statements about parenting and their perception of their partner’s beliefs includes areas such as child rearing practices, confidence and uncertainty about child rearing. Although this scale demonstrated evidence of reliability and validity in women, this was not found in men. 95 |
| Infant Care Questionnaire | Secco 96 | The mother’s perception of her abilities and competence in providing for her infant. 96 |
| Inventory of Parent Experience | Crnic et al. 97 | Satisfaction with parenting—parents rate items on satisfaction, for example ‘How do you feel about the chores that are part of child care?’ Also includes questions assessing the quality of social support that the parent receives. 98 |
| Lang and Goulet Hardiness Scale | Lang et al. 99 | Hardiness in parents who have suffered the death of a foetus/infant—three components: sense of personal control over the outcome of life events and hardships such as the death of a foetus/infant, an active orientation towards meeting the challenges brought on by the loss and a belief in the ability to make sense of one’s own existence following such a tragedy. 99 |
| Maternal Identity Scale | Kho 100 | 17 items—maternal identity—two different components of maternal identity; self-identity as a mother and identification with the baby. 32 |
| Maternal Self-Efficacy Scale | Teti and Gelfand 101 | How mothers perceive themselves as parents—mothers rate how effective they feel they are on specific tasks when caring for their infant, for example feeding and playing. 102 |
| Maternal Self-Report Inventory | Shea and Tronick 103 | 18 items—maternal self-esteem—mother’s rate how true they feel different items regarding parenting issues are tapping into the mother’s feeling of competence. 77 |
| Modernity Scale | Schaefer and Edgerton 104 | 30 items—child rearing beliefs—higher scores indicate more child-centred beliefs. 105 |
| Mother Treatment Scale of the Parental Image Differential | Ginsburg et al. 106 | 15 items—a mother’s perception of her parenting style—9 items measure maternal concern and the remaining 6 measure maternal restrictiveness. 107 |
| Neonatal Perception Inventory | Broussard and Hartber 108 | A mother’s expectations of their own infant in comparison to an average infant—domains of feeding, spitting up/vomiting, sleeping, bowel movements, settling into predictable patterns, entertaining themselves and needing to be held or carried about. 86 |
| Parenting Sense of Competence | Johnston and Mash 109 | 17 items—how confident a parent is in their parental role—measures satisfaction (extent of frustration, anxiety, motivation) and efficacy (competence, problem-solving ability and capability). 79 |
| Parent Opinion Questionnaire | Azar et al. 110 | 80 items—unrealistic developmental expectations that parents hold concerning children—parents have to agree or disagree on items, for example ‘Most of the time a 4-year-old can choose the right clothing for the weather and then get him or herself off to school’. 111 |
| Paternal Attitude Scale | Boyd 112 | 38 statements—father’s attitudes towards participation in parenting activities—rate statements, for example ‘I am just as capable of giving out baby a bath as my wife’ as to how much they agree with them. 112 |
| Parental Attitude Research Instrument | Schafer and Bell 113 | 45 items—parental attitudes of warmth and authoritarianism—parents rate their agreement with statements. 114 |
| Parental Attitudes Towards Childbearing | Easterbrooks and Goldberg 115 | 52 items—parent’s attitudes towards child rearing—parents rate their level of agreement with items, for example fathers’ warmth and aggravation in relation to the child. 23 |
| Parental Efficacy Questionnaire | Inspired by Caprara, 1998, see for details, van Ijzendoorn et al. 116 | 22 items—parental efficacy—parents’ feelings of competence in child rearing, in particular parents’ ability to empathize with the child’s feelings and the way they act when under stress. 56 |
| Parental Expectations and Perception of Parenthood Adjustment | Kach and McGhee 117 | Open–ended questions and 29 statements—prenatal and postnatal version, administered before and after the birth of the baby—examining problems, gratifications and feelings about parenthood, which are rated for agreement. 118 |
| Parental Satisfaction Scale | Pistrang 119 | Parental meaning and satisfaction—parents rate their agreement with items, such as ‘caring for my baby makes me feel good about myself’. 120 |
| Parent Attribution Test | Bugental et al. 121 | Perceived balance of the control that the parent thinks there is between themselves and their child—contains a child control over failure scale and an adult control over failure scale, the difference between the results of the two scales provides the perceived control over failure scale. 68 |
| Parent Expectations Survey | Reece 122 | 25 items— parenting self-efficacy—mothers rate items on how confident they feel in their ability to conduct certain tasks, for example feeding and soothing a new baby as well as how the mother is managing her lifestyle. 123 |
| Parenting Self-Agency Measure | Dumka et al. 124 | The degree to which a parent views themselves as an instrument of their own actions. 125 |
| Perceived Maternal Parenting Self-Efficacy Tool | Barnes and Adamson-Macedo 126 | 20 items—a mother’s perception of their ability to parent—four subscales: care taking procedures, evoking behaviour, reading behaviour or signalling and situational beliefs. 126 |
| Personal Expectations about Parenting | Stiober and Houghton 127 | 30 items—parenting expectations—parents evaluate statements, for example ‘Having a baby makes a person frightened and lonely’ and, ‘A baby protects a mother from feeling lonely’. 127 |
| Pregnancy Anxiety Scale | Levin 128 | 10 items—anxiety during pregnancy—pregnancy, childbirth and hospitalization. 128 |
| Pregnancy Related Anxieties Questionnaire—Revised | Huizink 129 | 10 items—pregnancy anxiety—three subscales: fear of giving birth, fear of bearing a physically or mentally handicapped child and concern about one’s own appearance. 130 |
| Satisfaction with Parenting Scale | Ragozin et al. 131 | 12 items—parental satisfaction—two subscales: satisfaction in the parenting role (such as measuring time away from the baby and mother’s satisfaction with infant care) and parental pleasure in the baby (such as doubts about maternal competence and mother’s degree of pleasure in child care chores). 132 |
| Self-Efficacy for Parenting Tasks Index | Coleman 133 | Parenting self-efficacy—includes examining the constructs of emotional availability, nurturing, discipline and limit setting. 134 |
| Self-Report Co-Parenting Scale | McHale 135 | How often a parent does something to promote a sense of family warmth, collaboration and cohesion. 136 |
| Subjective Experience of Parenting Scale | Benjamin et al. 137 | 128 items—parenting characteristics—parents had to rate how often they engaged in various parenting behaviours, for example attachment behaviours, discipline, regulation of anger and behaviours that promoted the child’s development. 137 |
| Transition to Maternal Role Scale | Adapted from Blank’s 138 and Mercer’s 139 14-item maternal behaviour scales | 7 items—how a mother adapts to her maternal role—mother’s rate the level of difficulty experienced on different items, for example their enjoyment of motherhood. 140 |
| What Being the Parent of a New Baby is Like (WPL) | Pridham and Chang 141 | 25 items—parent’s perceptions of themselves as parents—three subscales: success (renamed evaluation in 1989), life change (added in 1989) and centrality. 142 |
Of the parental belief measures, the most commonly used was the Parenting Sense of Competence Scale.
Table 4 displays the marital quality measures. These measures assess marital conflict, quality and perception of marital problems.
Marital quality measures
| Measurement | Main reference | Measure description and issues with validity/reliability |
| Areas of Change Questionnaire (A-C) | Weiss and Birchler 143 | 68 items—amount of change that couples seek in their relationship—34 start with ‘I want my partner to … ’ while the remaining half start with ‘It would please my partner if I … ’. 144 |
| Dyadic Adjustment Scale | Spanier 145 | 32 items—marital relations—four subscales: consensus on matters of importance to dyadic functioning, dyadic satisfaction, dyadic cohesion and affectional expression. 118 |
| Evaluating and Nurturing Relationship Issues Communication and Happiness Scales | Olson et al. 89 | 50 items—marital satisfaction—five areas of the marital relationship: communication, conflict resolution, children and marriage, sexual relationship, and egalitarian relations. 146 |
| Four Factor Scale of Intimate Relations | Braiker and Kelley 147 | Marital relationships—four subscales: feelings of love and ambivalence towards the husband, the extent to which wives feel they have attempted to maintain their marital relationship and the degree to which conflict characterizes their interactions with their husbands. 148 |
| Marital Adjustment Inventory | Locke and Wallace 149 | 15 items—global measure of marital adjustment—differentiates between distressed and nondistressed marital relationships. 144 |
| Marital Satisfaction Scale | Roach 150 | How satisfied someone is in his or her marital relationship at any given time indicating greater or lesser favourability than other points in the relationship. 140 |
| Marital Satisfaction Scale | Huston 151 | 11 items—marital satisfaction—semantic differential measure, with items, including boring–interesting and miserable–encouraging. 148 |
| Marital Status Inventory | Weiss and Cerreto 152 | 14 items—dissolution potential in a marital relationship—person answers true or false to statements. 144 |
| Partnership Questionnaire | Hahlweg 153 | 30 items—marital satisfaction—three different aspects of relationships: communication, sensitivity and conflict. 154 |
| Positive and Negative Affect Schedule | Watson et al. 155 | 20 items—10 positive and 10 negative—mothers’ subjective emotional experience when they are interacting with their child–parents rate the degree in which they felt each of the emotions while playing with their child. 156 |
| Postpartum Partner Support Scale | Dennis and Ross 157 | Perceptions of postpartum support from a partner—examines functional elements of support: appraisal/emotional, informational and instrumental. 157 |
| Quality Marriage Index | Norton 158 | 6 items—quality and satisfaction in a relationship—such as stability, strength and happiness. 60 |
| Quality of Relationships Inventory | Pierce et al. 159 | Relationship—specific conflict with a partner 1 week after their baby has been born—can be adapted and shortened to as few as five items. 157 |
| Relationship Dynamics Scale | Stanley and Markman 160 | 8 items—relationship problems—partner states how often they feel a certain way in their relationship, for example ‘ I feel lonely in this relationship’. 161 |
| Relationship Scales Questionnaire | Griffin and Bartholomew 162 | 30 items—attachment styles—people rate how well statements describe themselves, such as ‘I find that others are reluctant to get as close as I would like’. 163 |
| Measurement | Main reference | Measure description and issues with validity/reliability |
| Areas of Change Questionnaire (A-C) | Weiss and Birchler 143 | 68 items—amount of change that couples seek in their relationship—34 start with ‘I want my partner to … ’ while the remaining half start with ‘It would please my partner if I … ’. 144 |
| Dyadic Adjustment Scale | Spanier 145 | 32 items—marital relations—four subscales: consensus on matters of importance to dyadic functioning, dyadic satisfaction, dyadic cohesion and affectional expression. 118 |
| Evaluating and Nurturing Relationship Issues Communication and Happiness Scales | Olson et al. 89 | 50 items—marital satisfaction—five areas of the marital relationship: communication, conflict resolution, children and marriage, sexual relationship, and egalitarian relations. 146 |
| Four Factor Scale of Intimate Relations | Braiker and Kelley 147 | Marital relationships—four subscales: feelings of love and ambivalence towards the husband, the extent to which wives feel they have attempted to maintain their marital relationship and the degree to which conflict characterizes their interactions with their husbands. 148 |
| Marital Adjustment Inventory | Locke and Wallace 149 | 15 items—global measure of marital adjustment—differentiates between distressed and nondistressed marital relationships. 144 |
| Marital Satisfaction Scale | Roach 150 | How satisfied someone is in his or her marital relationship at any given time indicating greater or lesser favourability than other points in the relationship. 140 |
| Marital Satisfaction Scale | Huston 151 | 11 items—marital satisfaction—semantic differential measure, with items, including boring–interesting and miserable–encouraging. 148 |
| Marital Status Inventory | Weiss and Cerreto 152 | 14 items—dissolution potential in a marital relationship—person answers true or false to statements. 144 |
| Partnership Questionnaire | Hahlweg 153 | 30 items—marital satisfaction—three different aspects of relationships: communication, sensitivity and conflict. 154 |
| Positive and Negative Affect Schedule | Watson et al. 155 | 20 items—10 positive and 10 negative—mothers’ subjective emotional experience when they are interacting with their child–parents rate the degree in which they felt each of the emotions while playing with their child. 156 |
| Postpartum Partner Support Scale | Dennis and Ross 157 | Perceptions of postpartum support from a partner—examines functional elements of support: appraisal/emotional, informational and instrumental. 157 |
| Quality Marriage Index | Norton 158 | 6 items—quality and satisfaction in a relationship—such as stability, strength and happiness. 60 |
| Quality of Relationships Inventory | Pierce et al. 159 | Relationship—specific conflict with a partner 1 week after their baby has been born—can be adapted and shortened to as few as five items. 157 |
| Relationship Dynamics Scale | Stanley and Markman 160 | 8 items—relationship problems—partner states how often they feel a certain way in their relationship, for example ‘ I feel lonely in this relationship’. 161 |
| Relationship Scales Questionnaire | Griffin and Bartholomew 162 | 30 items—attachment styles—people rate how well statements describe themselves, such as ‘I find that others are reluctant to get as close as I would like’. 163 |
Marital quality measures
| Measurement | Main reference | Measure description and issues with validity/reliability |
| Areas of Change Questionnaire (A-C) | Weiss and Birchler 143 | 68 items—amount of change that couples seek in their relationship—34 start with ‘I want my partner to … ’ while the remaining half start with ‘It would please my partner if I … ’. 144 |
| Dyadic Adjustment Scale | Spanier 145 | 32 items—marital relations—four subscales: consensus on matters of importance to dyadic functioning, dyadic satisfaction, dyadic cohesion and affectional expression. 118 |
| Evaluating and Nurturing Relationship Issues Communication and Happiness Scales | Olson et al. 89 | 50 items—marital satisfaction—five areas of the marital relationship: communication, conflict resolution, children and marriage, sexual relationship, and egalitarian relations. 146 |
| Four Factor Scale of Intimate Relations | Braiker and Kelley 147 | Marital relationships—four subscales: feelings of love and ambivalence towards the husband, the extent to which wives feel they have attempted to maintain their marital relationship and the degree to which conflict characterizes their interactions with their husbands. 148 |
| Marital Adjustment Inventory | Locke and Wallace 149 | 15 items—global measure of marital adjustment—differentiates between distressed and nondistressed marital relationships. 144 |
| Marital Satisfaction Scale | Roach 150 | How satisfied someone is in his or her marital relationship at any given time indicating greater or lesser favourability than other points in the relationship. 140 |
| Marital Satisfaction Scale | Huston 151 | 11 items—marital satisfaction—semantic differential measure, with items, including boring–interesting and miserable–encouraging. 148 |
| Marital Status Inventory | Weiss and Cerreto 152 | 14 items—dissolution potential in a marital relationship—person answers true or false to statements. 144 |
| Partnership Questionnaire | Hahlweg 153 | 30 items—marital satisfaction—three different aspects of relationships: communication, sensitivity and conflict. 154 |
| Positive and Negative Affect Schedule | Watson et al. 155 | 20 items—10 positive and 10 negative—mothers’ subjective emotional experience when they are interacting with their child–parents rate the degree in which they felt each of the emotions while playing with their child. 156 |
| Postpartum Partner Support Scale | Dennis and Ross 157 | Perceptions of postpartum support from a partner—examines functional elements of support: appraisal/emotional, informational and instrumental. 157 |
| Quality Marriage Index | Norton 158 | 6 items—quality and satisfaction in a relationship—such as stability, strength and happiness. 60 |
| Quality of Relationships Inventory | Pierce et al. 159 | Relationship—specific conflict with a partner 1 week after their baby has been born—can be adapted and shortened to as few as five items. 157 |
| Relationship Dynamics Scale | Stanley and Markman 160 | 8 items—relationship problems—partner states how often they feel a certain way in their relationship, for example ‘ I feel lonely in this relationship’. 161 |
| Relationship Scales Questionnaire | Griffin and Bartholomew 162 | 30 items—attachment styles—people rate how well statements describe themselves, such as ‘I find that others are reluctant to get as close as I would like’. 163 |
| Measurement | Main reference | Measure description and issues with validity/reliability |
| Areas of Change Questionnaire (A-C) | Weiss and Birchler 143 | 68 items—amount of change that couples seek in their relationship—34 start with ‘I want my partner to … ’ while the remaining half start with ‘It would please my partner if I … ’. 144 |
| Dyadic Adjustment Scale | Spanier 145 | 32 items—marital relations—four subscales: consensus on matters of importance to dyadic functioning, dyadic satisfaction, dyadic cohesion and affectional expression. 118 |
| Evaluating and Nurturing Relationship Issues Communication and Happiness Scales | Olson et al. 89 | 50 items—marital satisfaction—five areas of the marital relationship: communication, conflict resolution, children and marriage, sexual relationship, and egalitarian relations. 146 |
| Four Factor Scale of Intimate Relations | Braiker and Kelley 147 | Marital relationships—four subscales: feelings of love and ambivalence towards the husband, the extent to which wives feel they have attempted to maintain their marital relationship and the degree to which conflict characterizes their interactions with their husbands. 148 |
| Marital Adjustment Inventory | Locke and Wallace 149 | 15 items—global measure of marital adjustment—differentiates between distressed and nondistressed marital relationships. 144 |
| Marital Satisfaction Scale | Roach 150 | How satisfied someone is in his or her marital relationship at any given time indicating greater or lesser favourability than other points in the relationship. 140 |
| Marital Satisfaction Scale | Huston 151 | 11 items—marital satisfaction—semantic differential measure, with items, including boring–interesting and miserable–encouraging. 148 |
| Marital Status Inventory | Weiss and Cerreto 152 | 14 items—dissolution potential in a marital relationship—person answers true or false to statements. 144 |
| Partnership Questionnaire | Hahlweg 153 | 30 items—marital satisfaction—three different aspects of relationships: communication, sensitivity and conflict. 154 |
| Positive and Negative Affect Schedule | Watson et al. 155 | 20 items—10 positive and 10 negative—mothers’ subjective emotional experience when they are interacting with their child–parents rate the degree in which they felt each of the emotions while playing with their child. 156 |
| Postpartum Partner Support Scale | Dennis and Ross 157 | Perceptions of postpartum support from a partner—examines functional elements of support: appraisal/emotional, informational and instrumental. 157 |
| Quality Marriage Index | Norton 158 | 6 items—quality and satisfaction in a relationship—such as stability, strength and happiness. 60 |
| Quality of Relationships Inventory | Pierce et al. 159 | Relationship—specific conflict with a partner 1 week after their baby has been born—can be adapted and shortened to as few as five items. 157 |
| Relationship Dynamics Scale | Stanley and Markman 160 | 8 items—relationship problems—partner states how often they feel a certain way in their relationship, for example ‘ I feel lonely in this relationship’. 161 |
| Relationship Scales Questionnaire | Griffin and Bartholomew 162 | 30 items—attachment styles—people rate how well statements describe themselves, such as ‘I find that others are reluctant to get as close as I would like’. 163 |
Of the marital quality measures, the most commonly used was the Dyadic Adjustment Scale.
Table 5 displays the global family functioning measures. These measures conceptualize the family as a system, which needs to be examined as a whole.
Global family functioning measures
| Measurement | Main reference | Measure description and issues with validity/reliability |
| Child and Family Impact Measure | Day and Davis 164 | 6 items—impact a child has on a family—two scales: impact (including problem severity, child distress and family distress items) and burden (including interference with child, family and nursery/school activity items). 164 No evidence of reliability or validity but conceptual base and structure similar to Impact Supplement of the Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire. 165 |
| Family Adaptability and Cohesion Evaluation Scale | Olson et al. 166 | 20 items—general family functioning—two dimensions of how a family functions: cohesion, the degree of family connectedness and adaptability, the degree to which the family system is able to change. 167 |
| Family Apgar | Smilkstein 168 | 5 items—family functioning—family adaptation, partnership, growth, affection and resolve. 169 |
| FAD | Epstein et al. 170 | 60 items—family unit functioning—six domains: roles, communication, problems solving, affective interaction, affective responsiveness, behaviour control and total family functioning. 77 |
| Family Assessment Measure | Skinner et al. 171 | 92 items—family functioning—two subscales: a general scale and a dyadic relationship scale—general scale contains 50 items and examines the family as a system and dyadic relationship scale contains 42 items and measures relationships between specific pairs in the family. 172 |
| Family Coping Strategies | McCubbin et al. 173 | Identifies behaviours and problem-solving approaches that can benefit a family—subscales: the mother’s reframing of family problems and the acquiring of support from family, friends, neighbours and community resources. 174 |
| Feetham Family Functioning Survey | Roberts and Feetham 175 | An individual’s interpretation of how their family is functioning—the family member’s views on how the family works in its current environment, the difference between how they expect their family to function and how it actually functions as well as the relative importance of different family functions. 176 |
| Impact on Family Scale | Stein and Reissman 177 | How much a mother perceives their child as impacting on their family—originally developed to assess the impact of a child with a disability, been adapted for healthy children—subscales: financial and personal strains, disruption of family, social and sibling relations and coping abilities. 178 |
| Prenatal Version of Who Does What | Cowan and Cowan 179 | 20 items—parents rate who they anticipate will be responsible for different child care-related responsibilities after the baby is born and who they would ideally like to be responsible for each task—final score results from the discrepancy between the anticipated and ideal ratings. 95 |
| Self-Report Family Inventory | Beavers et al. 180 | 34 items—internal family functioning—five dimensions: health/competence, conflict resolution, cohesion, leadership and expressiveness. 181 |
| Measurement | Main reference | Measure description and issues with validity/reliability |
| Child and Family Impact Measure | Day and Davis 164 | 6 items—impact a child has on a family—two scales: impact (including problem severity, child distress and family distress items) and burden (including interference with child, family and nursery/school activity items). 164 No evidence of reliability or validity but conceptual base and structure similar to Impact Supplement of the Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire. 165 |
| Family Adaptability and Cohesion Evaluation Scale | Olson et al. 166 | 20 items—general family functioning—two dimensions of how a family functions: cohesion, the degree of family connectedness and adaptability, the degree to which the family system is able to change. 167 |
| Family Apgar | Smilkstein 168 | 5 items—family functioning—family adaptation, partnership, growth, affection and resolve. 169 |
| FAD | Epstein et al. 170 | 60 items—family unit functioning—six domains: roles, communication, problems solving, affective interaction, affective responsiveness, behaviour control and total family functioning. 77 |
| Family Assessment Measure | Skinner et al. 171 | 92 items—family functioning—two subscales: a general scale and a dyadic relationship scale—general scale contains 50 items and examines the family as a system and dyadic relationship scale contains 42 items and measures relationships between specific pairs in the family. 172 |
| Family Coping Strategies | McCubbin et al. 173 | Identifies behaviours and problem-solving approaches that can benefit a family—subscales: the mother’s reframing of family problems and the acquiring of support from family, friends, neighbours and community resources. 174 |
| Feetham Family Functioning Survey | Roberts and Feetham 175 | An individual’s interpretation of how their family is functioning—the family member’s views on how the family works in its current environment, the difference between how they expect their family to function and how it actually functions as well as the relative importance of different family functions. 176 |
| Impact on Family Scale | Stein and Reissman 177 | How much a mother perceives their child as impacting on their family—originally developed to assess the impact of a child with a disability, been adapted for healthy children—subscales: financial and personal strains, disruption of family, social and sibling relations and coping abilities. 178 |
| Prenatal Version of Who Does What | Cowan and Cowan 179 | 20 items—parents rate who they anticipate will be responsible for different child care-related responsibilities after the baby is born and who they would ideally like to be responsible for each task—final score results from the discrepancy between the anticipated and ideal ratings. 95 |
| Self-Report Family Inventory | Beavers et al. 180 | 34 items—internal family functioning—five dimensions: health/competence, conflict resolution, cohesion, leadership and expressiveness. 181 |
Global family functioning measures
| Measurement | Main reference | Measure description and issues with validity/reliability |
| Child and Family Impact Measure | Day and Davis 164 | 6 items—impact a child has on a family—two scales: impact (including problem severity, child distress and family distress items) and burden (including interference with child, family and nursery/school activity items). 164 No evidence of reliability or validity but conceptual base and structure similar to Impact Supplement of the Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire. 165 |
| Family Adaptability and Cohesion Evaluation Scale | Olson et al. 166 | 20 items—general family functioning—two dimensions of how a family functions: cohesion, the degree of family connectedness and adaptability, the degree to which the family system is able to change. 167 |
| Family Apgar | Smilkstein 168 | 5 items—family functioning—family adaptation, partnership, growth, affection and resolve. 169 |
| FAD | Epstein et al. 170 | 60 items—family unit functioning—six domains: roles, communication, problems solving, affective interaction, affective responsiveness, behaviour control and total family functioning. 77 |
| Family Assessment Measure | Skinner et al. 171 | 92 items—family functioning—two subscales: a general scale and a dyadic relationship scale—general scale contains 50 items and examines the family as a system and dyadic relationship scale contains 42 items and measures relationships between specific pairs in the family. 172 |
| Family Coping Strategies | McCubbin et al. 173 | Identifies behaviours and problem-solving approaches that can benefit a family—subscales: the mother’s reframing of family problems and the acquiring of support from family, friends, neighbours and community resources. 174 |
| Feetham Family Functioning Survey | Roberts and Feetham 175 | An individual’s interpretation of how their family is functioning—the family member’s views on how the family works in its current environment, the difference between how they expect their family to function and how it actually functions as well as the relative importance of different family functions. 176 |
| Impact on Family Scale | Stein and Reissman 177 | How much a mother perceives their child as impacting on their family—originally developed to assess the impact of a child with a disability, been adapted for healthy children—subscales: financial and personal strains, disruption of family, social and sibling relations and coping abilities. 178 |
| Prenatal Version of Who Does What | Cowan and Cowan 179 | 20 items—parents rate who they anticipate will be responsible for different child care-related responsibilities after the baby is born and who they would ideally like to be responsible for each task—final score results from the discrepancy between the anticipated and ideal ratings. 95 |
| Self-Report Family Inventory | Beavers et al. 180 | 34 items—internal family functioning—five dimensions: health/competence, conflict resolution, cohesion, leadership and expressiveness. 181 |
| Measurement | Main reference | Measure description and issues with validity/reliability |
| Child and Family Impact Measure | Day and Davis 164 | 6 items—impact a child has on a family—two scales: impact (including problem severity, child distress and family distress items) and burden (including interference with child, family and nursery/school activity items). 164 No evidence of reliability or validity but conceptual base and structure similar to Impact Supplement of the Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire. 165 |
| Family Adaptability and Cohesion Evaluation Scale | Olson et al. 166 | 20 items—general family functioning—two dimensions of how a family functions: cohesion, the degree of family connectedness and adaptability, the degree to which the family system is able to change. 167 |
| Family Apgar | Smilkstein 168 | 5 items—family functioning—family adaptation, partnership, growth, affection and resolve. 169 |
| FAD | Epstein et al. 170 | 60 items—family unit functioning—six domains: roles, communication, problems solving, affective interaction, affective responsiveness, behaviour control and total family functioning. 77 |
| Family Assessment Measure | Skinner et al. 171 | 92 items—family functioning—two subscales: a general scale and a dyadic relationship scale—general scale contains 50 items and examines the family as a system and dyadic relationship scale contains 42 items and measures relationships between specific pairs in the family. 172 |
| Family Coping Strategies | McCubbin et al. 173 | Identifies behaviours and problem-solving approaches that can benefit a family—subscales: the mother’s reframing of family problems and the acquiring of support from family, friends, neighbours and community resources. 174 |
| Feetham Family Functioning Survey | Roberts and Feetham 175 | An individual’s interpretation of how their family is functioning—the family member’s views on how the family works in its current environment, the difference between how they expect their family to function and how it actually functions as well as the relative importance of different family functions. 176 |
| Impact on Family Scale | Stein and Reissman 177 | How much a mother perceives their child as impacting on their family—originally developed to assess the impact of a child with a disability, been adapted for healthy children—subscales: financial and personal strains, disruption of family, social and sibling relations and coping abilities. 178 |
| Prenatal Version of Who Does What | Cowan and Cowan 179 | 20 items—parents rate who they anticipate will be responsible for different child care-related responsibilities after the baby is born and who they would ideally like to be responsible for each task—final score results from the discrepancy between the anticipated and ideal ratings. 95 |
| Self-Report Family Inventory | Beavers et al. 180 | 34 items—internal family functioning—five dimensions: health/competence, conflict resolution, cohesion, leadership and expressiveness. 181 |
Of the global family functioning measures, the most commonly used were the Impact on Family Scale, the Family Adaptability and Cohesion Evaluation Scale, the FAD and the Family Assessment Measure.
Table 6 displays the situation-specific measures. These measures assess how a family functions in a specific situation when a child suffers problems.
| Measurement | Main reference | Measure description and issues with validity/reliability |
| A Screening Questionnaire for Mother–Infant Bonding Disorders | Brockington et al. 46 | 25 items—early indications of disorders in mother–infant relationships—four scales: impaired bonding, rejection and anger, anxiety and incipient abuse. 46 |
| Family Provider Relationships Instrument (FAMPRO) | Van Riper 182 | Originally developed for use with parents who had children born with Down syndrome—adapted for use with parents who had children in an intensive care unit—to assess maternal beliefs, desires, feelings and intentions concerning family-provider relationships. 183 |
| Maternal Cognitions about Infant Sleep Questionnaire | Morrell 184 | 20 items—how mother’s think about infant sleep—five subscales: cognitions about difficulty setting limits on the infant, anger at the infant’s demands, doubt about parenting competence, worries about feeding during the night and worries about cot death. 185 |
| Parental Stress Scale: NICU | Miles et al. 186 | Stress of having children hospitalized in intensive care because of low birth weight—two dimensions of stress: stress related to the infant’s behaviour and appearance and stress related to feeling restricted in their maternal or caregiver role. 187 |
| Parent Experience of Child Illness | Bonner et al. 188 | 25 items—how a parent experiences having to cope with a child who is ill—difficulties with chronic sorrow, uncertainty, and subjective parenting distress, as well as emotional resources. 188 |
| The Parental Belief Scale for Parents of Hospitalized Children | Melnyk 189 | 20 items—beliefs parents have while their children are in hospital—parents rate their agreement with items, for example ‘I am clear about the things that I can do to best help my child’. 190 |
| Measurement | Main reference | Measure description and issues with validity/reliability |
| A Screening Questionnaire for Mother–Infant Bonding Disorders | Brockington et al. 46 | 25 items—early indications of disorders in mother–infant relationships—four scales: impaired bonding, rejection and anger, anxiety and incipient abuse. 46 |
| Family Provider Relationships Instrument (FAMPRO) | Van Riper 182 | Originally developed for use with parents who had children born with Down syndrome—adapted for use with parents who had children in an intensive care unit—to assess maternal beliefs, desires, feelings and intentions concerning family-provider relationships. 183 |
| Maternal Cognitions about Infant Sleep Questionnaire | Morrell 184 | 20 items—how mother’s think about infant sleep—five subscales: cognitions about difficulty setting limits on the infant, anger at the infant’s demands, doubt about parenting competence, worries about feeding during the night and worries about cot death. 185 |
| Parental Stress Scale: NICU | Miles et al. 186 | Stress of having children hospitalized in intensive care because of low birth weight—two dimensions of stress: stress related to the infant’s behaviour and appearance and stress related to feeling restricted in their maternal or caregiver role. 187 |
| Parent Experience of Child Illness | Bonner et al. 188 | 25 items—how a parent experiences having to cope with a child who is ill—difficulties with chronic sorrow, uncertainty, and subjective parenting distress, as well as emotional resources. 188 |
| The Parental Belief Scale for Parents of Hospitalized Children | Melnyk 189 | 20 items—beliefs parents have while their children are in hospital—parents rate their agreement with items, for example ‘I am clear about the things that I can do to best help my child’. 190 |
| Measurement | Main reference | Measure description and issues with validity/reliability |
| A Screening Questionnaire for Mother–Infant Bonding Disorders | Brockington et al. 46 | 25 items—early indications of disorders in mother–infant relationships—four scales: impaired bonding, rejection and anger, anxiety and incipient abuse. 46 |
| Family Provider Relationships Instrument (FAMPRO) | Van Riper 182 | Originally developed for use with parents who had children born with Down syndrome—adapted for use with parents who had children in an intensive care unit—to assess maternal beliefs, desires, feelings and intentions concerning family-provider relationships. 183 |
| Maternal Cognitions about Infant Sleep Questionnaire | Morrell 184 | 20 items—how mother’s think about infant sleep—five subscales: cognitions about difficulty setting limits on the infant, anger at the infant’s demands, doubt about parenting competence, worries about feeding during the night and worries about cot death. 185 |
| Parental Stress Scale: NICU | Miles et al. 186 | Stress of having children hospitalized in intensive care because of low birth weight—two dimensions of stress: stress related to the infant’s behaviour and appearance and stress related to feeling restricted in their maternal or caregiver role. 187 |
| Parent Experience of Child Illness | Bonner et al. 188 | 25 items—how a parent experiences having to cope with a child who is ill—difficulties with chronic sorrow, uncertainty, and subjective parenting distress, as well as emotional resources. 188 |
| The Parental Belief Scale for Parents of Hospitalized Children | Melnyk 189 | 20 items—beliefs parents have while their children are in hospital—parents rate their agreement with items, for example ‘I am clear about the things that I can do to best help my child’. 190 |
| Measurement | Main reference | Measure description and issues with validity/reliability |
| A Screening Questionnaire for Mother–Infant Bonding Disorders | Brockington et al. 46 | 25 items—early indications of disorders in mother–infant relationships—four scales: impaired bonding, rejection and anger, anxiety and incipient abuse. 46 |
| Family Provider Relationships Instrument (FAMPRO) | Van Riper 182 | Originally developed for use with parents who had children born with Down syndrome—adapted for use with parents who had children in an intensive care unit—to assess maternal beliefs, desires, feelings and intentions concerning family-provider relationships. 183 |
| Maternal Cognitions about Infant Sleep Questionnaire | Morrell 184 | 20 items—how mother’s think about infant sleep—five subscales: cognitions about difficulty setting limits on the infant, anger at the infant’s demands, doubt about parenting competence, worries about feeding during the night and worries about cot death. 185 |
| Parental Stress Scale: NICU | Miles et al. 186 | Stress of having children hospitalized in intensive care because of low birth weight—two dimensions of stress: stress related to the infant’s behaviour and appearance and stress related to feeling restricted in their maternal or caregiver role. 187 |
| Parent Experience of Child Illness | Bonner et al. 188 | 25 items—how a parent experiences having to cope with a child who is ill—difficulties with chronic sorrow, uncertainty, and subjective parenting distress, as well as emotional resources. 188 |
| The Parental Belief Scale for Parents of Hospitalized Children | Melnyk 189 | 20 items—beliefs parents have while their children are in hospital—parents rate their agreement with items, for example ‘I am clear about the things that I can do to best help my child’. 190 |
Of the situation-specific measures, none had been repeatedly used and should instead be chosen depending on the specific situation present.
This review demonstrates the vast range of available measures of the family environment, providing an outline of >100 measures, which can be used to measure different aspects of family functioning. We extended the findings of Tutty who reviewed six commonly used measures of family functioning by reviewing all self-report family functioning measures. We presented summary evidence on domains that might be useful in epidemiological research conducted among families with young children as well as in clinical work with families by non-specialists.
For each approach to family functioning, we identified a few key measures, which were more commonly used than others. These commonly used measures have been shown to be short, widely normed clinically relevant measures. It is evident that the most commonly used measures have already shown characteristics which make them strong contenders for their continued use in future research.
Self-report measures for assessing six different approaches to family functioning were identified; however, self-report measures are more suitable for measuring some aspects of family functioning than others. Self-report measures have proved invaluable in research assessing parental practices and discipline, with large epidemiological studies using self-report measures linking problem parenting (especially harsh and inconsistent discipline) with disruptive behaviour in children. 1, 12 Self-report measures are also fundamental in research assessing parental beliefs, as they provide the only means of tapping into this important area of family functioning. Research into parent and child relationships, however, has been most commonly examined using observational measures or semi-structured interviews. Self-report measures have not been shown to be as successful at assessing attachment, for example with Lim et al. 13 (in press) concluding that there are no ‘quick and ready’ measures of attachment and that those claiming to measure such a construct are ‘most likely measuring something else’. It is clear that while self-report measures offer a valuable way of assessing family functioning, there are some areas for which they are more suitable, for example beliefs as opposed to behaviours.
Ease of administration and cost-efficiency make self-report instruments attractive for assessing psychological constructs in large-scale research but reporting bias means the attitudes expressed might not reflect actual behaviour. Some areas of family functioning appear to have substantially more measures than others. There may be a degree of publication bias driven by the popularity of specific areas of research. Greenberg 14 states the importance of acknowledging the effect of such bias, demonstrating the vast quantity of false information which can be created following distortions.
There are limitations of this review that should be acknowledged. The search criteria used were potentially restrictive, only including articles with the term self-report. Alternative terms, for example self-completion or pencil and paper, would have broadened the search. The search could have been further broadened by looking at sources beyond databases and including articles not published in English. It should also be noted that there is a certain degree of subjectivity involved when assessing the themes of the instruments.
A key area for future research lies in the area of multi-informant data. Many of the measures described claim to measure how a family functions, while only requiring the input of one member of the family. Future research should aim to compare and combine self-reports from different family members regarding the functioning of the family as a whole or should ask other important adults, for example a child’s carer or teacher, to comment in order to gain multi-informant data on family functioning. Combining information from several informants in order to develop a more holistic measurement has been done successfully within other fields. For example, Goodman’s Strengths and Difficulties questionnaire in which information can be combined from the child, the parent and the teacher in order to develop the most sensitive and specific screening tool for child psychopathology. 15
Due to the broad span of the study of family functioning, it has not been possible fully to describe each measure in detail. We intend in subsequent publications to provide more detailed data on the psychometric properties of the instruments used to assess each of the domains of family functioning we have described here.
In conclusion, this review has identified >100 self-report measures of family functioning. It has acknowledged that some of these measures are more commonly used than others and that these measures display characteristics that make them acceptable measures for future research in the area. Some areas of family functioning are better suited to research using self-report measures, for example parental beliefs, while research into behavioural characteristics may better rely more on observational measures. The range of measures available in this very comprehensive field should minimize the necessity for developing new self-report measures of family functioning, except perhaps for specific areas where family functioning has not previously been explored. Future research should examine the usefulness of combining information of family functioning from different informants.
Funding: Primary Care Division, Greater Glasgow Health Board
Conflicts of interest: none.
