Factor Structure of the Parenting Attitudes and Approaches Survey in a Nationally Representative Sample of Head Start Parents

Abstract

Parenting has an influential role in early child development and is a common variable of interest in research on child development. The present study examined the factor structure of the Parenting Attitudes and Approaches Survey (PAAS) in a nationally representative sample of 2,685 parents of children attending Head Start. The PAAS is a 13-item questionnaire designed to assess for authoritative and authoritarian parenting, parental warmth, and parental energy. The results of a confirmatory factor analysis determined that the four-factor model provided poor to adequate fit to the data. To better identify the factor structure of the PAAS, an exploratory factor analysis was conducted on a randomly assigned half of the sample (n = 1,359) of parents of youth enrolled in Head Start from the FACES database. Results suggested a two-factor solution using 11 items. Factor 1 reflected warm/responsive parenting with consistent disciplining approaches, while Factor 2 reflected a harsh, inconsistent approach to discipline. The two-factor model was then confirmed in the remaining half of the sample (n = 1,339) and demonstrated an adequate to close fit to the data (χ2 (41) = 132.253 (p < .001), RMSEA = .041 (90% CI = .033-.049), SRMR = .037, and TLI = .880) with improved factor loadings and residual variances compared to the original four-factor model. Results support the notion that warm, responsive parents tend to report the use of consistent discipline, while parents endorsing the use of harsh discipline tend to also report the use of inconsistent discipline strategies. Implications of the results for the assessment of parenting in future research are discussed.