Abstract
Children's perceptions of positive and negative parental behaviors were assessed using a newly-developed scale, the Parent Perception Inventory (PPI). Reliability and validity were examined across a sample of 75 children aged 5 to 13 using additional measures administered to the children and measures completed by their parents. The scale showed acceptable levels of internal consistency. No effects of children's age were apparent, but effects of the child's and parent's gender were found. Boys reported more positive parental behaviors, particularly for fathers, and children reported more negative (disciplinary) behaviors by mothers. PPI scores were predictably related to child's self-concept and behavior problems (convergent validity) and generally unrelated to measures of child's achievement (discriminant validity). As predicted by family systems theory, children from nondistressed families viewed their parents as behaving more similarly on the PPI than did children from distressed families.
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This investigation was conducted as part of the University Family Studies Project, a research project directed by the second and third authors and funded by the National Institute of Mental Health (MH 32616).
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Hazzard, A., Christensen, A. & Margolin, G. Children's perceptions of parental behaviors. J Abnorm Child Psychol 11, 49–59 (1983). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00912177
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00912177