| Summary: | A dearth of research evaluating the psychometric properties of parentchild
attachment measures has raised questions about the validity of scores
when these self-report instruments are administered. The purpose of this study
was to examine the construct validity of the scores produced by two parentadolescent
attachment measures on a sample of 200 adolescents grades eight
through twelve who volunteered to take part in the project. The scores obtained
from the 200 adolescents on the parent-child attachment questionnaires were
analyzed using confirmatory factor analysis of the measurement models
delineated by the authors of the scales. Structural equations modeling in LISREL
was used to address the invariance of the factor structures for each attachment
scale across the sex groupings. When comparing the correlation coefficients
within and between the score from the IPPA, PAQ, RCMAS, and SDQ-II, the
study generally supported the convergent and discriminant validity of the two
attachment measures. However, results from the current sample failed to provide
support for the factor structure of the IPPA and the PAQ, and the invariance of
the measurement models across female and male participants. Taken together,
results from the current study suggest that school psychologists or counsellors
can use the total scores of the parent forms of the IPPA and PAQ in group or
individual assessment as initial indicators of parent-child attachment and felt
security. However, as with all assessments, the results should be interpreted in
the context of information gained from other methods including interviews,
observations, and self-reports measuring other constructs. === Education, Faculty of === Educational and Counselling Psychology, and Special Education (ECPS), Department of === Graduate
|
|---|
