On the Measurement and Conceptualization of Parental Rules

Parental rules have been curiously neglected from a conceptual and measurement perspective. The first half of this paper reviews the literature to show that there is no commonly used, standardized measure of rules. Rules are typically measured either with ad hoc unvalidated items or incidentally measured with 1–2 items on multi-item scales assessing a broader parenting construct (e.g., discipline). Construct definitions are rarely stated, often circular, and inconsistent between authors. As a result, the empirical literature on parental rules is difficult to appraise and synthesize. The second half of this paper proposes a new framework for conceptualizing parental rules that includes an explicit, non-circular construct definition and delineates 7 distinct dimensions along which a parental rule can vary. The framework is designed to be universally applicable across youth behaviors and scientific fields and enable a more rigorous empirical science of parental rules.