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

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Abstract

The aim of the current study was to create a new measure of parenting practices, constituted by items from already established measures, to advance the measurement of parenting practices in clinical and research settings. Five stages were utilized to select optimal parenting items, establish a factor structure consisting of positive and negative dimensions of parenting, meaningfully consider child developmental stage, and ensure strong psychometric properties (reliability and validity) of the final measure. A total of 1790 parents (44% fathers) were recruited online through Amazon’s Mechanical Turk for three cohorts: Stages 1 (N = 611), 2 (N = 615), and 3 (N = 564). Each sample was equally divided by child developmental stage: Young childhood (3 to 7 years old), middle childhood (8 to 12 years old), and adolescence (13 to 17 years old). Through the five-stage empirical approach, the Multidimensional Assessment of Parenting Scale (MAPS) was developed, successfully achieving all aims. The MAPS factor structure included both positive and negative dimensions of warmth/hostility and behavioral control that were appropriate for parents of children across the developmental span. The MAPS demonstrated strong reliability and longitudinal analyses provided initial support for the validity of MAPS subscales.

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Acknowledgements

This research was supported by the Child and Adolescent Psychology Training and Research, Inc (CAPTR). The first author is supported NICHD grant F31HD082858 and the second author is supported by NIMH grant R01MH100377.

Author Contributions

J.P.: designed and executed the study, conducted data analyses, and had primary responsibility with writing the manuscript. R.F.: collaborated and assisted with all aspects of the study as well as with writing the manuscript.

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  1. Department of Psychological Science, University of Vermont, Burlington, VT, 05405, USA

    Justin Parent & Rex Forehand

  2. Department of Psychiatry & Human Behavior, Alpert Medical School of Brown University, Providence, RI, 02903, USA

    Justin Parent

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Correspondence to Justin Parent.

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Parent, J., Forehand, R. The Multidimensional Assessment of Parenting Scale (MAPS): Development and Psychometric Properties. J Child Fam Stud 26, 2136–2151 (2017). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10826-017-0741-5

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