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Published on: September 19, 2019
A comparison of direct and spontaneous methods for assessing parental attributions
Charlotte Wilson1, Rachel Calam, Caroline White
1School of Medicine, Health Policy and Practice, Elizabeth Fry Building, University of East Anglia, Norwich, UK. charlotte.wilson@uea.ac.uk
Spontaneous parental attributions did not correlate more strongly with attributions after repeated child non-compliance. This suggests different measures may capture distinct aspects of parental cognition.
Area of Science:
- Psychology
- Parenting Studies
Background:
- Parental attributions are beliefs about the causes of child behavior.
- Understanding these attributions is crucial for effective parenting interventions.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate the relationship between spontaneous parental attributions and those made following child non-compliance.
- To determine if attributions change after repeated instances of non-compliance.
Main Methods:
- Twenty-six parents participated, completing two attributional measures.
- Direct attributions were assessed after the first and third child non-compliance vignettes.
- Spontaneous attributions were elicited via interview and coded.
Main Results:
- Spontaneous attributions showed no greater association with attributions after the third non-compliance compared to the first.
- The findings indicate a potential divergence between spontaneous and elicited attribution measures.
Conclusions:
- Current attributional measures may assess different facets of parental cognitive processes.
- Further research is needed to clarify the distinct constructs measured by various attributional methods.
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