EXPLORING THE RELIABILITY OF MEASURES OF FAMILY-RELATIONS, PARENTAL ATTITUDES, AND PARENT-CHILD RELATIONS IN A DISADVANTAGED MINORITY POPULATION

A review of parenting questionnaires showed that a number did not have published test-retest reliability, and had not been developed with mi nority or disadvantaged parents. Four measures were selected for furth er study: Parental Attitudes to Childrearing, the Parental Acceptance Rejection Questionnaire, Raising Children, and the Conflict Tactics Sc ale. Forty mothers, living in economically disadvantaged inner-city lo cations, completed the measures twice, from 2 to 4 weeks apart. Signif icant test-retest reliability was established for all four measures an d internal consistency was similar to published reports. Some reservat ions were noted about the relevance of certain questions for parents l iving in stressful conditions.