Parenting practices have been linked to a wide range of issues related to children’s psychological adjustment; however, more research is warranted to further understand not only cultural variations of parenting norms, but also how such variations might differentially influence child outcomes. The current study examined the psychometric properties of a Chinese translation of the Multidimensional Assessment of Parenting Scale (MAPS) in order to: 1) assess both positive and negative dimensions of parenting in Chinese-speaking societies, and 2) to explore the relationships between these practices and children’s psychopathological symptoms. A total of 2237 parents with children between 6-12 years old completed the MAPS, Interpersonal Mindfulness in Parenting Scale (IM-P), adapted Parental Bonding Instrument (PBI), and other measures related to children’s psychosocial functioning. Exploratory and confirmatory factor analyses revealed a clear six-factor structure. Results demonstrated adequate psychometric properties in terms of internal consistency and test-retest reliability. MAPS subscales also showed concurrent and convergent validity with mindful parenting, parent-child bonding, and children’s psychopathology outcomes. The importance of using culturally validated dimensional measures of parenting is discussed in this paper.
The Multidimensional Assessment of Parenting Scale (MAPS): Development and Psychometric Properties
