Young People in Focus

End note

Policy Research Bureau Methodological Points

Measuring Five Key Dimensions of Parenting:

i To measure communication, parents and young people were given a list of four statements about communication and negotiation, and asked to say to what extent the statements described their own relationship, on a 5-point scale ranging from ‘very true’ to ‘not at all true’. The statements covered talking together, listening, mutual comprehension, and discussions that ended in conflict.  By plotting the extent to which individual parents moved up or down each scale between ‘Before’ and ‘After’ using a statistical technique known as the Wilcoxon Signed Ranks test, we are able to assess the extent to which there were significant improvements (or deterioration) in these aspects of communication. We were also able to calculate an overall ‘constructive communication’ score by combining these four items additively within a single scale, where a higher score indicated a greater number of ‘positive’ responses overall, and a lower score more negative responses.  Overall scores give us the capacity to identify mean (average) scores for the sample, and to test the significance of changes in average scores between ‘Before’ and ‘After’.

ii To measure supervision and monitoring, respondents were asked to report on the frequency with which parents knew the details of their child’s movements and activities, on a scale ranging from ‘always’ to ‘hardly ever/never’. The four questions in this group included knowing where the child was, whom they were with, what they were doing, and when they were due home when they went out independently of the parent. In the same manner as the constructive communication scale, we combined responses to these items into an additive ‘overall supervision and monitoring’ scale, with higher scores indicating greater levels of supervision of the child.

iii To measure conflict between parents and children, we asked parents and young people to tell us the frequency with which they had arguments, and how often in the previous week they had employed a range of responses to conflict, abstracted from the well-known Conflict Tactics Scales (Straus et al 1975). These ranged from calm discussion through shouting and swearing to physical punishment. We combined these into ‘miniature’ scales comprising verbal conflict; conflict ‘avoidance’ (sulking, stomping off); threatening violence; and actual violence.

iv To measure warmth and hostility in the parent-child relationship, we asked respondents to tell us generally how often they praised or told their child that they loved or cared for them (warmth) and how often they lost their temper or criticised their child (hostility).

v To measure confidence in parenting skills and coping with parenting, parents were asked to self report on their sense of understanding and empathy with the child (knowing how the child is feeling; understanding the child’s behaviour); sense of efficacy in influencing the  child’s behaviour (solving problems without conflict; setting and maintaining boundaries and ground rules at home; feeling respected by the child); and coping with parenting (trusting the child to behave responsible; feeling stressed by child; knowing where to find help with problems and sense of coping in a global sense).

Statistical Tests:

vi N=67.  Mean T1=13.7463 (SD=5.1); Mean T2= 16.3582 (SD=2.9); t= -4.652, p≤.001

vii N=30, Mean T1=18.2333 (SD=4.1); Mean T2= 15.8333 (SD=4.9); t= 2.562, p≤.05

viii N=69, Mean T1=15.8551 (SD=21.2); Mean T2= 12.3188 (SD=3.7); t= 1.391, p=.169

ix N=29, Mean T1=14.7586 (SD=5.7); Mean T2= 12.1379 (SD=3.7); t= 2.394, p≤.05

x N=69, Mean T1=13.1159 (SD=5.1); Mean T2= 16.5362 (SD=9.3); t= -2.668, p≤.05

xi N=69, Mean T1=13.8406 (SD=2.6); Mean T2= 15.4493 (SD=2.7); t= 6.195, p≤.001

xii N=30, Mean T1=10.1 (SD=2.9); Mean T2= 11.9667 (SD=2.6); t= -3.080, p≤.01

xiii N=69, Wilcoxon, z=-3.517, p≤.001

xiv N=23, Mean T1=16.4348 (SD=6.5); Mean T2= 12.1304 (SD=2.8); t= 3.567, p≤.005

xv N=28, Mean T1=10.5714 (SD=2.1); Mean T2= 11.5357 (SD=2.2); t= -2.540, p≤.05

xvi N=60, Mean of warmth with MotherT1 =10.7 (SD=2.2); Mean warmth with Dad T1=12.2667 (SD=3.2) T= -3.567, p≤=.001

xvii N=29, Mean T1=14.4483 (SD=6.5); Mean T2= 11.1724 (SD=3.2); t= 2.823, p≤.01

xviii Paired sample T tests

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