Prevention-Based Parenting in Middle Childhood: A Validation Study of the Alabama Parenting Questionnaire

Background and Purpose: Effective parenting of youth in middle childhood can prevent them from engaging in delinquency, substance abuse and other problem behaviors during adolescence. Valid instruments are needed to measure prevention-based parenting in order to determine their effectiveness in deterring elementary school-age children from experiencing difficulties as teenagers. The Alabama Parenting Questionnaire (APQ) has been widely used to assess parenting practices among parents of children ages 6-10 who are already engaged in problem behaviors. Yet, little is known about the application of the APQ to measure prevention-based parenting practices among parents of children whose behaviors do not necessitate clinical intervention. The objective of this study is to contribute to the prevention literature on effective parenting by conducting a validation study of the APQ with parents of a community-based sample of youth.

Methods: Data were derived from a large-scale, point-in-time examination of prevention-based parenting practices in one southeastern state. Telephone and mail data collection protocols were used to administer the instrument to a sample of 1,153 parents of children ages 10 and younger. The current study is based on data from 790 parents of 6-10 year old children, including 360 telephone respondents (46%) and 430 mail respondents (54%). Most respondents are female, (67%), married (88%), between 30 and 50 years of age (86%), and non-Hispanic White (75%). Data analytic methods involved the use of random selection procedures in SPSS to split the sample into two groups of 395 each. After verifying comparability across the groups on key background variables, data from one group were used to conduct exploratory factor analysis (EFA). Data from the other group were used to confirm the EFA findings using confirmatory factor analytic (CFA) methods.

Results: The original 42 items of the APQ were reduced to 19 items that loaded on three subscales, accounting for 46% of the variance. The subscales represent parenting practices associated with child behavior reinforcement and discipline [Positive Reinforcement (6 items; α=.78), Effective Disciplinary Practices (6 items; α=.68), and Ineffective Disciplinary Practices (7 items; α=.79)]. CFA results supported the EFA findings in that all items loaded significantly on their respective factors (p < .05) and fit indices indicated adequate fit with the model (χ2=336.14; df =149; χ2/df ratio=1.9:1; GFI=.94; CFI=.93; RMSEA=.05; SRMR=.06). The internal consistency of the overall scale is within an acceptable range (α=.81).

Conclusions and Implications: These findings contribute to understanding how the APQ can be used by social workers and other prevention specialists to assess parenting practices among parents of elementary school-aged youth in a prevention context. In particular, the APQ may be useful for determining parenting practices associated with child behavior reinforcement and discipline, which have been strongly linked to preventing problem behaviors in adolescence. Further research is needed to evaluate variations with single parents, as well as parents from other racial/ethnic groups.