Development and Validation of a Short-Form Parenting Self-Efficacy Scale: Me as a Parent Scale (MaaPs-SF)

Higher levels of self-reported parenting self-efficacy have been associated with positive parent–child relationships, parental mental health and child developmental outcomes. Parenting self-efficacy has also shown to be an antecedent, a mediator, a moderator and an outcome in parenting research and investigated widely in evaluation of parenting interventions. Therefore, a brief reliable and meaningful assessment of parenting self-efficacy would be a useful tool for researchers and practitioners understand the effectiveness of evidence-based parenting and family interventions. This study aimed to derive and validate a short-form of a longer 16-item self-report scale––the ‘Me as a Parent’ scale (MaaPs)––originally developed in an Australian context for clinical and research use. The full scale measures parents’ perceptions within four theoretical sub-traits of parenting self-regulation: self-efficacy, personal agency, self-management and self-sufficiency. To establish a short form, exploratory and confirmatory factor analysis were conducted on two separate datasets: the Parenting Self-Efficacy Study (PSES) (N = 160) and the 2016 Parenting Today in Victoria (PTiV) survey (N = 2600). Two main factors were derived with the dominant sub-scale being Self-Efficacy. A reliable 4-item MaaPs short-form (MaaPs-SF) was created comprising three self-efficacy items plus one self-management item. Pre and post-intervention PSES data supported the sensitivity of the MaaPs-SF to change associated with intervention, yielding similar results to the long-form scale. Selected analyses of the PTiV data predicting parenting outcomes were repeated using the MaaPs-SF with similar results to the long-form MaaPs. We concluded the 4-item MaaPs-SF could be reliably substituted for the 16-item scale for specific purposes.