Construction and Cross-Cultural Validation of Parenting Regulatory Focus Scale

Abstract

Based on regulatory focus theory (Higgins, 1997), parenting regulatory focus (PRF) refers to the motivations – promotion based or prevention based – behind child-rearing behaviors. Across three studies, I sought to construct and cross-culturally validate a new PRF Scale that measures parenting motivations. In the initial scale validation (Study 1), a convenience sample was collected at the Minnesota State Fair (N = 856) to identify the number of factors and reduce scale items associated and to establish the preliminary psychometrics properties. In Study 2, a two-step tiered MTurk sampling was used to validate the PRF Scale with a more diverse parent sample (N = 497). I specifically tested the internal and test-rest reliability, two-factor structure, and construct validity of the PRF Scale. In Study 3, the psychometric properties of the translated PRF Scale were first demonstrated in a Chinese parent sample (N = 356). By pooling the U.S. (Study 2) and Chinese samples (Study 3), measurement invariance (i.e., configural, metric, and partial scalar invariance) was established through multi-group confirmatory factor analysis between countries. These three studies demonstrate the psychometrics of the new PRF Scale and its contribution as an effective tool to understand individual differences in parenting motivation.