Measurement of parental discipline and nurturance

This paper reviews the measurement of parental discipline and nurturance over the past 20 years. Discipline and nurturance are two of the most heavily referenced constructs in the parenting research literature, but there are varying ways to operationalize them with respect to both method and content. The review considered 76 questionnaires that purported to assess discipline, nurturance, or both. The evaluation included examination of a total of 27 interview schedules that used either in-person or telephone structured questions or a vignette format and focused on discipline and nurturance or discipline only. A total of 33 observational systems were reviewed, the majority of which addressed both discipline and nurturance. All measures were profiled, and several noteworthy instruments were discussed. Recommendations were offered regarding how to strengthen measurement and scientific understanding of discipline and nurturance, including the need for greater attention to cultural variation and measurement equivalence issues.