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[Questionnaire on parental attitudes and rearing practices (FEPS)]
Hertha Richter-Appelt1, Benno Graf Schimmelmann, Jutta Tiefensee
1Institut für Sexualforschung und Forensische Psychiatrie, Universitätsklinikum Hamburg-Eppendorf. hrichter@uke.uni-hamburg.de
Psychotherapie, Psychosomatik, Medizinische Psychologie
|January 15, 2004
Summary
Parenting styles, assessed by the new FEPS questionnaire, significantly impact child development. Specific patterns in care, autonomy, and reinforcement/punishment behaviors may indicate risks for psychological problems.
Area of Science:
- Developmental Psychology
- Clinical Psychology
- Psychometrics
Background:
- Positive parent-child relationships are crucial for healthy cognitive, emotional, and social development.
- Parenting styles, defined by parental attitudes and rearing practices, significantly influence this relationship.
- Existing instruments may not fully capture the nuances of parenting behaviors.
Purpose of the Study:
- To present the development and psychometric properties of a new questionnaire on parental attitudes and rearing practices (FEPS).
- To extend the Parental Bonding Instrument (PBI) and incorporate scales for parental reinforcement and punishment.
- To evaluate the FEPS's ability to differentiate between clinical and non-clinical populations and identify potential risk factors.
Main Methods:
- Development of the Family Environment Parenting Scales (FEPS), including an extended PBI and scales for reinforcement/punishment.
- Factorial and item analysis conducted on a sample of 457 women and 159 men.
- Initial application in a clinical study to assess differentiation between populations.
Main Results:
- Factor analysis revealed four distinct scales: care, autonomy, low punishment, and low material reinforcement.
- The 'care' dimension encompasses both immaterial reinforcement and punishment (coldness, ignorance).
- Preliminary findings suggest the FEPS can differentiate between clinical and non-clinical groups.
Conclusions:
- The FEPS is a psychometrically sound instrument for assessing parental attitudes and rearing practices.
- Specific patterns within the FEPS scales may serve as risk factors for psychiatric and psychological problems.
- The FEPS shows promise for clinical applications in identifying and understanding developmental risks.
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