Test of parenting skills

An item pool was developed to assess basic parenting skills in the areas of attachment, emotional capacity, judgment, knowledge of child development, and safety. Initially, 200 items were generated and completed by a sample o f 15 parents. Item scores correlated with scores on a social desirability s cale or having low variance were edited or eliminated. A sample of 56 paren ts completed the revised scale, a social desirability scale, and the Adult- Adolescent Parenting Inventory. The reliabilities of the final subscales of the Test of Parenting Skills were modest, ranging from .56 to .77. Scores on the subscales were also correlated with those subscales from the Adult-A dolescent Parenting Inventory. With the exception of the Judgment scores be ing correlated with the use of harsh discipline, the significant correlatio ns suggested concurrent validity. The individual subscales require addition al refinement to achieve adequate internal consistency, but they have poten tial for measuring competency in core parenting skills.