Measuring Children’s Perceptions of Parental Involvement in Conjoint Behavioral Consultation

Abstract

Practitioners of Conjoint Behavioral Consultation rely on several sources of information to assist in planning and evaluation of consultation efforts. Parental involvement in the home is an important aspect in Conjoint Behavioral Consultation, yet there are few questionnaires available to practitioners to assess this important construct, particularly those that target children’s self-report. This study examined the factor structure and reliability of a new questionnaire to measure children’s perceptions of their parental involvement in learning. The Parental Support for Learning Scale: Child Form (PSLS) was administered to a sample of 231 children (aged 10–13 years). Exploratory factor analysis supported a four-factor structure representing parental involvement behaviors and emotional tone: (a) Parental Management of the Learning Environment, (b) Parental Participation With Homework, (c) Controlling Parental Involvement, and (d) Supportive Parental Involvement. Analysis showed satisfactory reliability coefficients. The four factors are discussed in relation to the relevant literature and Conjoint Behavioral Consultation, and future directions for further validation of the PSLS are discussed.