Psychometric Validation of Parenting Scale among College-going Girls in India
Author : Suruchi Bhatia, Nandita Babu and Sonam Chandhok
Abstract :
Background: Parenting is a key variable of interest in psychological and psychiatric studies as parenting is known to shape the psychological makeup of an individual. However, most of the measures to assess parenting have been developed or validated for use in the western countries. Parenting practices varies from culture to culture and hence, a culture sensitive scale is required to assess the same.
Aim: The purpose of this study was to establish validity and reliability of the Parenting Scale developed by Bharadwaj, Sharma and Garg for use in Indian young adults in the present context.
Method: The sample of the study was 150 college going girls in the age range 18-21 years (mean age = 19.04 ± 0.96) from various universities of Delhi-NCR, India. The scale measures the role of fathers, mothers and both on eight dimensions.
Results: An exploratory factor analysis using principal axis factoring method through varimax rotation showed high loading for all 40 items under the eight domains of parenting, ensuring construct validity of the scale. The convergent validity of the scale was assessed using Average Variance Extracted (AVE). AVE was greater than 0.5, suggesting good convergence validity. The values of construct reliability for each domain indicated good internal consistency.
Conclusion: The scale has a logical factor structure and is a reliable and valid measure for use among young adults in India. The scale may also be validated for use in other South Asian countries as they share common socio-cultural features and practices.
Keywords :
Parenting Scale, exploratory factor analysis, validation, reliability, college going girls.
