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Updated: May 30, 2026
08:13
Using the Race Model Inequality to Quantify Behavioral Multisensory Integration Effects
Published on: May 10, 2019
Observed parenting behavior with teens: measurement invariance and predictive validity across race
Martie L Skinner1, Elizabeth P MacKenzie2, Kevin P Haggerty1
1Social Development Research Group, School of Social Work, University of Washington.
Cultural Diversity & Ethnic Minority Psychology
|July 27, 2011
Summary
This study found that observed parenting behaviors are measured equally across African American and European American families. Parenting interventions targeting behaviors can be generalized to African American families.
Area of Science:
- Psychology
- Sociology
- Family Studies
Background:
- Previous research on measurement equality in parenting has focused on young children.
- Self-reports and observed behaviors with young children have been primary data points.
Purpose of the Study:
- To examine measurement equality of observed parenting behaviors with adolescents across ethnic groups.
- To investigate mean-level differences in observed parenting.
- To assess the predictive validity of parenting behaviors on adolescent antisocial outcomes.
Main Methods:
- Utilized observer ratings of parenting behavior during structured tasks with adolescents.
- Employed multiple-group confirmatory factor analyses to test measurement invariance.
- Used multigroup structural equation models to assess predictive validity across ethnic groups.
Main Results:
- Measurement invariance was supported for observed parenting behaviors (prosocial rewards, psychological costs, antisocial rewards, problem solving) across African American and European American families.
- African American parents showed lower prosocial rewards, higher psychological costs, and lower problem-solving compared to European Americans.
- Predictive validity of parenting constructs on youth antisocial outcomes was largely comparable across racial groups.
Conclusions:
- Observed parenting behaviors are measured equivalently across European American and African American families with adolescents.
- While some mean-level differences exist, the predictive validity of parenting on youth antisocial behavior is similar across racial groups.
- Findings support the generalizability of family-based interventions targeting parenting behaviors to African American families.
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