Skip to main content
SpringerLink
Log in

Why is this Happening? A Brief Measure of Parental Attributions Assessing Parents’ Intentionality, Permanence, and Dispositional Attributions of Their Child with Conduct Problems

  • Original Article
  • Published:
Child Psychiatry & Human Development Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

We present and evaluate a new self-report measure of parental attributions developed for assessing child causal and dispositional attributions in parenting interventions. The Parent Attribution Measure (PAM) ascribes attributions along first-order dimensions of intentionality, permanence, likeability, and disposition, and a higher-order Total Scale. The psychometric analyses involved participants drawn from populations of clinical (n = 318) and community-based families (n = 214) who completed questionnaires assessing parental attributions, parenting behaviours, parental depression, parental feelings about the child, and child behavioural problems. Confirmatory factor analysis indicated that a 3-factor hierarchical structure provided a close fitting model. The model with intentionality, permanence, and disposition (consolidating likeability and disposition) dimensions as first-order factors grouped under a higher-order general factor was validated in independent samples and demonstrated sound psychometric properties. The PAM presents as a brief measure of parental attributions assessing parents’ intentionality, permanence, and dispositional attributions of their child with conduct problems.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this article

Log in via an institution

Price excludes VAT (USA)
Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.

Instant access to the full article PDF.

Institutional subscriptions

Similar content being viewed by others

References

  1. Brestan EV, Eyberg SM (1998) Effective psychosocial treatments of conduct-disordered children and adolescents: 29 years, 82 studies, and 5,272 kids. J Clin Child Psychol 27(2):180–189

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  2. Lonigan CJ, Elbert JC, Johnson SB (1998) Empirically supported psychosocial interventions for children: an overview. J Clin Child Psychol 27(2):138–145

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  3. Hood KK, Eyberg SM (2003) Outcomes of parent-child interaction therapy: Mothers’ reports of maintenance three to six years after treatment. J Clin Child Adolesc Psychol 32(3):419–429

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  4. Webster-Stratton C, Hollinsworth T, Kolpacoff M (1989) The long-term effectiveness and clinical significance of three cost-effective training programs for families with conduct-problem children. J Consult Clin Psychol 57(4):550

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  5. Sawrikar V, Dadds M (2018) What role for parental attributions in parenting interventions for child conduct problems? Advances from research into practice. Clin Child Fam Psychol Rev 21(1):41–56

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  6. Shaffer A, Kotchick BA, Dorsey S, Forehand R (2001) The past, present, and future of behavioral parent training: Interventions for child and adolescent problem behavior. Behav Anal Today 2(2):91

    Article  Google Scholar 

  7. Dix T, Grusec J (1985) Parent attribution processes in the socialization of children. In: Sigel I, McGillicuddy-DeLisi A, Goodnow J (eds) Parental belief systems: the psychological consequences for children. Lawrence Erlbaum, Hillsdale, pp 201–233

    Google Scholar 

  8. Prinz R, Miller G (1996) Parental engagement in interventions for children at risk for conduct disorder. In: Peters RD, McMahon RJ (eds) Banff international behavioral science: preventing childhood disorders, substance abuse, and delinquency. SAGE, Thousand Oaks, pp 161–183

    Chapter  Google Scholar 

  9. Miller GE, Prinz RJ (1990) Enhancement of social learning family interventions for childhood conduct disorder. Psychol Bull 108(2):291

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  10. Mah JW, Johnston C (2008) Parental social cognitions: considerations in the acceptability of and engagement in behavioral parent training. Clin Child Fam Psychol Rev 11(4):218–236

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  11. Hoza B, Johnston C, Pillow DR, Ascough JC (2006) Predicting treatment response for childhood attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder: introduction of a heuristic model to guide research. Appl Prev Psychol 11(4):215–229

    Article  Google Scholar 

  12. Weiner B (1985) An attributional theory of achievement motivation and emotion. Psychol Rev 92(4):548

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  13. Morrissey-Kane E, Prinz RJ (1999) Engagement in child and adolescent treatment: the role of parental cognitions and attributions. Clin Child Fam Psychol Rev 2(3):183–198

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  14. Pidgeon AM, Sanders MR (2009) Attributions, parental anger and risk of maltreatment. Int J Child Health Hum Dev 2(1):57–69

    Google Scholar 

  15. Snarr JD, Slep AMS, Grande VP (2009) Validation of a new self-report measure of parental attributions. Psychol Assess 21(3):390

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  16. Sobol MP, Ashbourne DT, Earn BM, Cunningham CE (1989) Parents’ attributions for achieving compliance from attention-deficit-disordered children. J Abnorm Child Psychol 17(3):359–369

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  17. Whittingham K, Sofronoff K, Sheffield J, Sanders MR (2009) Do parental attributions affect treatment outcome in a parenting program? An exploration of the effects of parental attributions in an RCT of Stepping Stones Triple P for the ASD population. Res Autism Spectrum Disord 3(1):129–144

    Article  Google Scholar 

  18. Baden AD, Howe GW (1992) Mothers’ attributions and expectancies regarding their conduct-disordered children. J Abnorm Child Psychol 20(5):467–485

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  19. Dix T, Lochman JE (1990) Social cognition and negative reactions to children: a comparison of mothers of aggressive and nonaggressive boys. J Soc Clin Psychol 9(4):418–438

    Article  Google Scholar 

  20. Stratton P, Munton A, Hanks H, Heard D, Davidson C (1988) Leeds attributional coding system manual. Leeds Family Therapy and Research Centre, Leeds

    Google Scholar 

  21. Calam R, Bolton C, Roberts J (2002) Maternal expressed emotion, attributions and depression and entry into therapy for children with behaviour problems. Br J Clin Psychol 41(2):213–216

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  22. Peters S, Calam R, Harrington R (2005) Maternal attributions and expressed emotion as predictors of attendance at parent management training. J Child Psychol Psychiatry 46(4):436–448

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  23. Bugental DB, Johnston C, New M, Silvester J (1998) Measuring parental attributions: conceptual and methodological issues. J Fam Psychol 12(4):459

    Article  Google Scholar 

  24. Johnston C, Ohan JL (2005) The importance of parental attributions in families of children with attention-deficit/hyperactivity and disruptive behavior disorders. Clin Child Fam Psychol Rev 8(3):167–182

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  25. Frick PJ, Morris AS (2004) Temperament and developmental pathways to conduct problems. J Clin Child Adolesc Psychol 33(1):54–68

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  26. Hawes DJ, Price MJ, Dadds MR (2014) Callous-unemotional traits and the treatment of conduct problems in childhood and adolescence: a comprehensive review. Clin Child Fam Psychol Rev 17(3):248–267

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  27. Kochanska G, Kim S, Boldt LJ, Yoon JE (2013) Children’s callous-unemotional traits moderate links between their positive relationships with parents at preschool age and externalizing behavior problems at early school age. J Child Psychol Psychiatry 54(11):1251–1260

    Article  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  28. Masi G, Manfredi A, Milone A, Muratori P, Polidori L, Ruglioni L et al (2011) Predictors of nonresponse to psychosocial treatment in children and adolescents with disruptive behavior disorders. J Child Adolesc Psychopharmacol 21(1):51–55

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  29. Jones EE, Davis KE (1965) From acts to dispositions the attribution process in person perception. Adv Exp Soc Psychol 2:219–266

    Google Scholar 

  30. Dix T (1993) Attributing dispositions to children: an interactional analysis of attribution in socialization. Pers Soc Psychol Bull 19(5):633–643

    Article  Google Scholar 

  31. Dix T, Meunier LN (2009) Depressive symptoms and parenting competence: an analysis of 13 regulatory processes. Dev Rev 29(1):45–68

    Article  Google Scholar 

  32. Gretarsson SJ, Gelfand DM (1988) Mothers’ attributions regarding their children’s social behavior and personality characteristics. Dev Psychol 24(2):264

    Article  Google Scholar 

  33. Dix T, Ruble DN, Grusec JE, Nixon S (1986) Social cognition in parents: Inferential and affective reactions to children of three age levels. Child Dev 57(4):879–894

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  34. Griest DL, Forehand R, Wells KC, McMahon RJ (1980) An examination of differences between nonclinic and behavior-problem clinic-referred children and their mothers. J Abnorm Psychol 89(3):497

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  35. Widaman KF, Reise SP. Exploring the measurement invariance of psychological instruments: applications in the substance use domain. Sci Prev 1997:281–324

  36. APA (2000) The diagnostic and statistical manual of mental disorders, 4th edn. APA, Washington, DC

    Google Scholar 

  37. Holland D, Dadds M (1997) The diagnostic interview schedule for children, adolescents, and parents. Griffith University, Brisbane

    Google Scholar 

  38. Goodman R (1997) The strengths and difficulties questionnaire: a research note. J Child Psychol Psychiatry 38(5):581–586

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  39. Goodman R (2001) Psychometric properties of the strengths and difficulties questionnaire. J Am Acad Child Adolesc Psychiatry 40(11):1337–1345

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  40. Hawes DJ, Dadds MR (2004) Australian data and psychometric properties of the Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire. Aust N Z J Psychiatry 38(8):644–651

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  41. Dadds MR, Fraser J, Frost A, Hawes DJ (2005) Disentangling the underlying dimensions of psychopathy and conduct problems in childhood: a community study. J Consult Clin Psychol 73(3):400–410

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  42. Frick PJ, Hare RD (2001) The antisocial process screening device (APSD). Multi-Health Systems, Toronto

    Google Scholar 

  43. Dadds MR, Hawes DJ, Frost ADJ, Vassallo S, Bunn P, Hunter K et al (2009) Learning to ‘talk the talk’: the relationship of psychopathic traits to deficits in empathy across childhood. J Child Psychol Psychiatry 50(5):599–606

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  44. Dadds MR, Perry Y, Hawes DJ, Merz S, Riddell AC, Haines DJ et al (2006) Attention to the eyes and fear-recognition deficits in child psychopathy. Br J Psychiatry 189(3):280–281

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  45. Campis LK, Lyman RD, Prentice-Dunn S (1986) The parental locus of control scale: development and validation. J Clin Child Psychol 15(3):260–267

    Article  Google Scholar 

  46. Lovejoy MC, Verda MR, Hays CE (1997) Convergent and discriminant validity of measures of parenting efficacy and control. J Clin Child Psychol 26(4):366–376

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  47. Frick PJ (1991) The Alabama Parenting Questionnaire (APQ). University of Alabama, Tuscaloosa

    Google Scholar 

  48. Derogatis LR, Melisaratos N (1983) The Brief Symptom Inventory: an introductory report. Psychol Med 13(3):595–605

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  49. MacCallum RC, Roznowski M, Necowitz LB (1992) Model modifications in covariance structure analysis: the problem of capitalization on chance. Psychol Bull 111(3):490

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  50. Särndal C-E, Swensson B, Wretman J (2003) Model assisted survey sampling. Springer, New York

    Google Scholar 

  51. Rhemtulla M, Brosseau-Liard P, Savalei V (2012) When can categorical variables be treated as continuous? A comparison of robust continuous and categorical SEM estimation methods under suboptimal conditions. Psychol Methods 17(3):354

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  52. Little TD (2013) Longitudinal structural equation modeling. Guilford Press, New York

    Google Scholar 

  53. Koziol NA, Bovaird JA (2017) The impact of model parameterization and estimation methods on tests of measurement invariance with ordered polytomous data. Educ Psychol Meas 78(2):272–296

    Article  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  54. Sass DA, Schmitt TA, Marsh HW (2014) Evaluating model fit with ordered categorical data within a measurement invariance framework: a comparison of estimators. Struct Equ Model 21(2):167–180

    Article  Google Scholar 

  55. APA (2013) The diagnostic and statistical manual of mental disorders, 5th edn. APA, Washington, DC

    Google Scholar 

  56. Muthén LK, Muthén BO (1998–2017) Mplus user’s guide, 8th edn. Muthén & Muthén, Los Angeles

  57. Brown TA (2014) Confirmatory factor analysis for applied research. Guilford Publications, New York

    Google Scholar 

  58. Hinkin TR (1998) A brief tutorial on the development of measures for use in survey questionnaires. Organ Res Methods 1(1):104–121

    Article  Google Scholar 

  59. Chen FF, Sousa KH, West SG (2005) Teacher’s corner: testing measurement invariance of second-order factor models. Struct Equ Model 12(3):471–492

    Article  Google Scholar 

  60. Dadds MR, Hawes DJ (2006) Integrated family intervention for child conduct problems: a behaviour-attachment-systems intervention for parents. Australian Academic Press, Brisbane

    Google Scholar 

  61. Hoza B, Owens JS, Pelham WE, Swanson JM, Conners CK, Hinshaw SP et al (2000) Parent cognitions as predictors of child treatment response in attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder. J Abnorm Child Psychol 28(6):569–583

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  62. Mattek RJ, Harris SE, Fox RA (2016) Predicting treatment success in child and parent therapy among families in poverty. J Genet Psychol 177(2):44–54

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

Download references

Funding

This study was funded by NHMRC Project Grants 455372, 568667, 1041793 and 1041492 to the 3rd and 4th authors.

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. University of New South Wales, Sydney, Australia

    Vilas Sawrikar

  2. University of Sydney, Sydney, Australia

    Antonio Mendoza Diaz, Caroline Moul, David J. Hawes & Mark R. Dadds

Authors
  1. Vilas Sawrikar
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. Antonio Mendoza Diaz
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  3. Caroline Moul
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  4. David J. Hawes
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  5. Mark R. Dadds
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Vilas Sawrikar.

Ethics declarations

Conflict of interest

The authors declare that they have no conflict of interest.

Ethical Approval

All procedures performed in the current study were in accordance with the ethical standards of the institutional and/or national research committee and with the 1964 Helsinki declaration and its later amendments or comparable ethical standards.

Informed Consent

Informed consent was obtained from all individual participants included in the study.

Electronic supplementary material

Below is the link to the electronic supplementary material.

Supplementary material 1 (DOCX 38 KB)

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Check for updates. Verify currency and authenticity via CrossMark

Cite this article

Sawrikar, V., Mendoza Diaz, A., Moul, C. et al. Why is this Happening? A Brief Measure of Parental Attributions Assessing Parents’ Intentionality, Permanence, and Dispositional Attributions of Their Child with Conduct Problems. Child Psychiatry Hum Dev 50, 362–373 (2019). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10578-018-0844-2

Download citation

  • Published:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10578-018-0844-2

Keywords

Search

Navigation