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Confirmatory Factor Analysis of Arnold et al.’s Parenting Scale Across Race, Age, and Sex

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Abstract

We used confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) to investigate the factor structure of several models of Arnold et al.’s Parenting Scale [Arnold et al. (1993). Psychological Assessment, 5, 137–144] across children from various age groups and races. Participants were parents of children (ages 2–16 years) presenting to four community-based pediatric practices for routine care. Parents completed questionnaires pertaining to various aspects of parenting and child behavior problems. Results indicated that a two-factor revision proposed by Reitman et al. [(2001). Journal of Clinical Child Psychology, 30, 514–524] represented the data well and better than the original three-factor structure and other two-factor models. Results from multigroup CFA analyses indicated that this factor structure did not vary across child sex, child age, and parental race. Results of validity analyses indicated that scores on both factors were related to reports of children’s behavior and parental affect and cognitions. This study was the first to use multigroup CFA procedures to demonstrate that relationships between individual items and factors of the Parenting Scale are similar for parents of children across various age groups.

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Acknowledgements

The authors would like to thank John Duby, M.D. and Diane L. Langkamp, M.D. for their administrative assistance with data collection. This paper is based on the first author’s M.A. thesis. Portions of this paper were presented at the 2005 annual meeting of the Association for Behavioral and Cognitive Therapies, Washington, DC.

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  1. Department of Psychology, Kent State University, Kent, OH, 44242, USA

    Bryan T. Karazsia, Manfred H. M. van Dulmen & Beth G. Wildman

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  1. Bryan T. Karazsia
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  2. Manfred H. M. van Dulmen
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  3. Beth G. Wildman
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Correspondence to Manfred H. M. van Dulmen.

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Karazsia, B.T., van Dulmen, M.H.M. & Wildman, B.G. Confirmatory Factor Analysis of Arnold et al.’s Parenting Scale Across Race, Age, and Sex. J Child Fam Stud 17, 500–516 (2008). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10826-007-9170-1

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10826-007-9170-1

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