Abstract
The current study investigated psychometric properties of the Family Affective Attitude Rating Scale (FAARS) for assessing
parents’ thoughts and feelings about their child, coded from a 5-min speech sample. Parental affective attitudes derive from
previous experiences of parenting and child behavior, representations of the parent–child relationship and broader parental
characteristics. Data were collected from mother-child dyads at ages 2 and 3 (N = 731; 49 % female) from a multi-ethnic and high-risk community sample. Multi-informant observations of parenting and questionnaire measures were used to test construct and discriminant validity.
FAARS showed good internal consistency and high inter-rater agreement. Affective attitudes were related to mothers’ perceptions
of their daily hassles, their reports of conflict with their child, and observed measures of positive and harsh parenting.
Negative affective attitudes uniquely predicted later child problem behavior, over and above maternal reports of and observed
measures of parenting. Overall, results support the validity of FAARS coding in mothers of preschoolers, a previously untested
group. FAARS is a novel measure, directly assessing maternal perceptions of the parent–child relationship, and indirectly
providing an index of maternal affect, stress, and depressive symptoms. Its brevity and cost-effectiveness further enhance
the potential use of the FAARS measure for clinical and research settings.
parents’ thoughts and feelings about their child, coded from a 5-min speech sample. Parental affective attitudes derive from
previous experiences of parenting and child behavior, representations of the parent–child relationship and broader parental
characteristics. Data were collected from mother-child dyads at ages 2 and 3 (N = 731; 49 % female) from a multi-ethnic and high-risk community sample. Multi-informant observations of parenting and questionnaire measures were used to test construct and discriminant validity.
FAARS showed good internal consistency and high inter-rater agreement. Affective attitudes were related to mothers’ perceptions
of their daily hassles, their reports of conflict with their child, and observed measures of positive and harsh parenting.
Negative affective attitudes uniquely predicted later child problem behavior, over and above maternal reports of and observed
measures of parenting. Overall, results support the validity of FAARS coding in mothers of preschoolers, a previously untested
group. FAARS is a novel measure, directly assessing maternal perceptions of the parent–child relationship, and indirectly
providing an index of maternal affect, stress, and depressive symptoms. Its brevity and cost-effectiveness further enhance
the potential use of the FAARS measure for clinical and research settings.
- Content Type Journal Article
- Pages 1-11
- DOI 10.1007/s10802-012-9621-z
- Authors
- Rebecca Waller, Department of Social Policy and Intervention, University of Oxford, Barnett House, 32 Wellington Square, Oxford, OX1 2ER UK
- Frances Gardner, Department of Social Policy and Intervention, University of Oxford, Barnett House, 32 Wellington Square, Oxford, OX1 2ER UK
- Thomas J. Dishion, Department of Psychology, Arizona State University, Tempe, AZ, USA
- Daniel S. Shaw, Department of Psychology, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, USA
- Melvin N. Wilson, Department of Psychology, University of Virginia, Charlottesville, VA, USA
- Journal Journal of Abnormal Child Psychology
- Online ISSN 1573-2835
- Print ISSN 0091-0627