Parenting practices and child behavior in Mexico: a validation study of the Alabama parenting questionnaire.

Abstract

The present study is a validation study of the Alabama Parenting Questionnaire (APQ) in a stratified sample in Monterrey, Mexico. A total of 862 sixth grade children were targeted for the study. Their female caregivers (n=862) were administered the APQ - Parent Report and the Child Behavior Checklist (CBCL) - Parent Report as part of a larger battery of tests. Measures of positive and negative parenting behaviors were used to predict externalizing and internalizing behaviors of the children. Results show that parenting behaviors of Mexican parents follow similar trends as those established in a similar large scale study conducted in Australia. Results also demonstrate good predictive validity of externalizing and internalizing behaviors in children using the positive and negative parenting practices assessed using the APQ. Results include a greater understanding of parenting behaviors in a large, diverse Mexican sample and implications for future research and directions for intervention with Latinos/as living in the U.S.