Adaptation and Evaluation of a Picture-Based Measure of Parent Discipline

Harsh parenting behaviors are some of the most commonly used discipline practices in the United States but are often difficult to measure. Self-report instruments are the most used method of assessing parenting behaviors, but likely result in response biases due to their methodological shortcomings. This study aimed to provide a viable alternative to traditional self-report surveys used to evaluate parenting practices with lower social desirability and lower literacy requirements. Our primary objectives were to adapt the Harsh Discipline Preference Discrete Choice Experiment (HDP-DCE), a picture-based measure originally developed for Liberia, for use with an American population, and evaluate its psychometric evidence of reliability and validity. We first adapted items through an iterative process of collecting feedback from 97 parents and 10 experts through focus groups and surveys to generate clear and acceptable images to elicit preferences for discipline strategies. We then administered the measure to 439 parents to explore the internal structure of the measure and evaluate multiple indicators of reliability and validity. An exploratory factor analysis resulted in three potential factor-solutions, with the three-factor solution explaining the most variance and being the most theoretically sound. Analyses also demonstrated that the HDP-DCE has excellent internal consistency, good test-retest reliability, and good convergent and discriminant validity. Given these results the HDP-DCE could be a useful alternative or complement to traditional self-report tools in research and clinical work.