Parenting across cultural contexts in the USA: assessing parenting behaviour in an ethnically and socioeconomically diverse sample

Abstract

This study examined the factorial validity of the Parent Behavior Inventory (PBI), a brief measure of parenting behaviour, in a diverse sample of mothers and compared differences in parenting as a function of ethnicity and socioeconomic status (SES). Exploratory and confirmatory factor analyses were performed on data generated by mothers of young children (N = 1705). Analyses indicated a tripartite structure with dimensions reflecting Warmth, Control and Hostility, respectively. Scores differed as a function of ethnicity and SES: European American and high‐SES mothers reported greatest Warmth whereas African American and high‐SES mothers reported greatest Control. A significant ethnicity X SES interaction was found for Hostility: Low‐SES African American and high‐SES Latina mothers reported the most hostile–coercive behaviours. Hostility among Latina mothers was associated with employment outside the home. Results support the factorial validity of the PBI with diverse populations and offer normative data for ideographic assessment of parenting behaviour across sociocultural contexts.

Keywords:

• parenting behaviour
• mothers
• measurement
• ethnicity
• race
• socioeconomic status (SES)

Acknowledgements

This research was supported by a grant from the Carl Arvid Anderson Family Fund for Science Research. Portions of the data were presented in a symposium on parenting and ethnicity at the 2008 meeting of the Midwestern Psychological Association, Chicago, Illinois.