Psychometric properties of a parenting assessment tool for Chinese parents of 0-3-year-olds according to the Nurturing Care Framework

Abstract

Given the limited information on early parenting measurements based on the conceptual framework of nurturing care through observational and interviewing methods, the study aimed to evaluate a parenting assessment tool developed for Chinese parents of 0-3-year-olds (PAT(0–3)). 549 mother dyads were conveniently sampled from 10 cities of China for validation, 75 cases were selected for test-retest reliability two weeks later and 158 children were selected for testing child neuropsychological and physical development. The scale includes two parts (Education part and Healthcare part), 5 subscales and 47 items. The internal consistency alpha coefficient of PAT(0–3), Education part and Healthcare part were 0.882, 0.848 and 0.741 respectively. The Pearson’s correlation coefficient between the test and retest was 0.928 for PAT(0–3). The results of confirmatory factor analysis were: χ² = 3003.51(p < 0.01), χ²/df = 2.93, CFI = 0.63, TLI = 0.61, RMSEA = 0.06 (90%CI:0.057–0.062). Education part was positively linked to the neuropsychological development (r = 0.201, p < 0.05), and Healthcare part was positively associated with child weight (r = 0.209, p < 0.05), child length (r = 0.293, p < 0.05). PAT(0–3) was positively related to maternal education level (η² = 0.16, p < 0.01) and maternal age (η² = 0.06, p < 0.05). PAT(0–3) based on the NCF by interviewing and observational methods yielded a reliable and marginally valid measurement of early parenting in China.