1 Time CID Mom Dad/Other At one time or another, all children misbehave or do things that could be harmful, are “wrong,” or that parents don’t like. Examples include: hitting someone, forgetting homework, having a tantrum, whining, throwing food, lying, arguing back, not picking up things, refusing to go to bed, coming home late. Parents have many different ways or styles of dealing with these types of problems. Below are items that describe some styles of parenting. For each item, fill in the bubble that best describes your style of parenting during the PAST TWO MONTHS with the child with you here today. At meal time... I let my child decide how I decide how much to eat I decide how much my child eats Ex. IN THE PAST TWO MONTHS 1. When my child misbehaves... I do something right away I do something later 2. Before I do something about a problem... I give my child several reminders and warnings I use only one reminder or warning 4. When I tell my child NOT to do something... I say very little I say a lot 3. When I’m upset or under stress... I am picky and on my child’s back I am not more picky than usual 5. When my child pesters me... I can ignore the pestering I can’t ignore the pestering 6. When my child misbehaves... I usually get into a long argument with my child I don’t get into an argument 8. I am the kind of parent that... Sets limits on what my child is allowed to do Lets my child do whatever he/ she wants 7. I threaten to do things that... I’m sure I can carry out I know I won’t actually do 9. When my child misbehaves... I give my child a long lecture I keep my talks short and to the point 10. When my child misbehaves... I raise my voice or yell I speak to my child calmly 11. If saying no doesn’t work right away... I take some other kind of action I keep talking and try to get through to my child 13. When my child is out of sight... I often don’t know what my child is doing I always have a good idea of what my child is doing 12. When I want my child to stop doing something... I firmly tell my child to stop I coax or beg my child to stop Parenting Scale Scale Developed by Susan G. O'Leary, David S. Arnold, Lisa S. Wolff, & Maureen M. Acker. Psychology Department, Stony Brook University, Stony Brook, NY 11794-2500 14. After there’s been a problem with my child... I often hold a grudge Things get back to normal quickly 15. When we’re not at home... I handle my child the way I do at home I let my child get away with a lot more 17. When there is a problem with my child... Things build up and I do things I don’t mean to do Things don’t get out of hand 16. When my child does something I don’t like... I do something about it every time it happens I often let it go 18. When my child misbehaves I spank, slap, grab, or hit my child... Never or rarely Most of the time 19. When my child doesn’t do what I ask... I often let it go or end up doing it myself I take some other action 21. If saying “no” doesn’t work... I take some other kind of action I offer my child something nice so he/she will behave 20. When I give a fair threat or warning... I often don’t carry it out I always do what I said 22. When my child misbehaves... I handle it without getting upset I get so frustrated or angry that my child can see I’m upset 23. When my child misbehaves... I make my child tell me why he/she did it I say “no” or take some other action 24. If my child misbehaves and then acts sorry... I handle the problem like I usually would I let it go that time 26. When I say my child can’t do something... I let my child do it anyway I stick to what I said 25. When my child misbehaves... I rarely use bad language or curse I almost always use bad language 27. When I have to handle a problem... I tell my child I’m sorry about it I don’t say I’m sorry 28. When my child does something I don’t like, I insult my child, say mean things, or call my child names Never or rarely Most of the time 30. If my child gets upset when I say “no”... I back down and give in to my child I stick to what I said 29. If my child talks back or complains when I handle a problem... I ignore the complaining and stick to what I said I give my child a talk about not complaining IN THE PAST TWO MONTHS Parenting Scale, page 2 Scoring Instructions for the Parenting Scale Each item receives a 1-7 score, where 7 is the “ineffective” end of the item. Thus, the following items have 7 on the left side (the others on the right): 2, 3, 6, 9, 10, 13, 14, 17, 19, 20, 23, 26, 27, 30 To compute the total score, average the responses on all items. To compute a factor score, average the responses on the items on that factor. Laxness: Overreactivity: Verbosity: Items not on a factor: 7, 8, 12, 15, 16, 19, 20, 21, 24, 26, 30 (11 items) 3, 6, 9, 10, 14, 17, 18, 22, 25, 28 (10 items) 2, 4, 7, 9, 11, 23, 29 (7 items) 1, 5, 13, 27 (4 items) Demographics, Parenting Scale & CBCL Scores for a clinic and control group (Standard deviations are in parentheses). Category Clinic Group (n=26) Control Group (n=51) Child’s age (months) 29.9 (4.5) 28.6 (3.3) Mother’s age (years) 29.6 (6.7) 31.7 (3.9) Mother’s education (years) 13.6 (1.7) 15.5 (2.6)* Family Income (thousands) 33.4 (9.3) 33.4 (10.2) Laxness Overreactivity: Verbosity: Total 2.8 (1.0) 3.0 (1.0) 3.4 (1.0) 3.1 (1.7) 2.4 (.8)* 2.4 (.7)** 3.1 (1.0) 2.6 (.6) CBCL Externalizing Scale (T-Score) 58.7 (10.3) 47.7 (8.4)*** *p<.05, **p<.01, ***p<.001 Parenting Scale Scores: