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The Psychological Maltreatment Rating Scales
M R Brassard1, S N Hart, D B Hardy
1School and Counseling Psychology Program, University of Massachusetts, Amherst 01003.
Child Abuse & Neglect
|November 1, 1993
Summary
The Psychological Maltreatment Rating Scales (PMRS) effectively measure parental behavior in mother-child interactions. These scales are more reliable and predictive of child protective services involvement than maternal personal resources or social support.
Area of Science:
- Child psychology
- Family studies
- Child welfare research
Background:
- Psychological maltreatment is a critical child welfare concern.
- Definitional ambiguity and lack of validated tools limit its assessment.
- Need for reliable instruments to evaluate parental behavior in mother-child interactions.
Purpose of the Study:
- To develop and validate the Psychological Maltreatment Rating Scales (PMRS).
- To assess psychological maltreatment and prosocial behavior in mother-child dyads.
- To predict child protective service involvement using the PMRS.
Main Methods:
- Development of the Psychological Maltreatment Rating Scales (PMRS).
- Rating videotaped interactions of 49 high-risk mother-child dyads.
- Exploratory factor analysis to identify parenting factors.
Main Results:
- PMRS demonstrated moderate reliability and validity.
- PMRS effectively discriminated between maltreating and comparison parents.
- PMRS predicted child protective service involvement more effectively than maternal measures.
- Factor analysis identified emotional abuse and two positive parenting factors.
Conclusions:
- The PMRS is a valuable tool for assessing psychological maltreatment and prosocial parenting.
- The scales offer a more effective predictive measure for child protective services involvement.
- Findings contribute to a better understanding of psychological abuse and neglect in parenting.