A Systematic Review of Parenting Scales Measurement Invariance/ Equivalence of by Race and Ethnicity: Recommendations for Inclusive Parenting Research

Abstract

The limited inclusion of racial/ethnic minorities in the development and validation of parenting measures limits our understanding of whether parenting constructs are valid in racial and ethnic minorities. Tests of measurement invariance/equivalence (MI/E) of parenting measures can help evaluate the validity of parenting constructs among racial/ethnic minorities. This systematic review summarized studies on MI/E of parenting constructs by race/ethnicity and evaluated the strength of the evidence. A literature search was conducted using various databases and references to retrieve studies from the United States. Indeed, 10 studies were identified that tested for MI/E of eight parenting scales by race/ethnicity. Only one scale showed moderate evidence of MI/E, five showed weak evidence of MI/E, and two showed no evidence of MI/E. Most studies (80%) used factor analytic methods to test for MI/E, but only two studies (20%) examined all levels of invariance. These findings show that differences exist in how racial/ethnic minorities perceive parenting constructs. Further research is needed to develop more inclusive parenting measures, to protect against the ways in which biased measures may pathologize or misrepresent parenting practices among racial/ethnic minorities.

Assessing parenting in racially and ethnically diverse families: A lack of measurement equivalence.

“…These theoretical models have been empirically supported by research showing differences across ethonoracial groups. However, this research has been divorced from important psychometric considerations, namely, measurement equivalence (Rodriguez et al, 2021), and more generally, on the generalizability of scales measuring parenting behavior in more diverse samples. Though socioecological models of parenting by Ogbu (1981) and Garcia Coll et al (1995) have served to advance our knowledge about why ethnoracial differences exist, there is less knowledge on how these theoretical models can coexist and align with multidimensional models of parenting, including Schaefer’s (1959) circumplex model for parenting behavior, which influenced the development of the MAPS.…”

“…Though socioecological models of parenting by Ogbu (1981) and Garcia Coll et al (1995) have served to advance our knowledge about why ethnoracial differences exist, there is less knowledge on how these theoretical models can coexist and align with multidimensional models of parenting, including Schaefer’s (1959) circumplex model for parenting behavior, which influenced the development of the MAPS. As such, there is a need for more research on how to measure both universal and ethnoracially influenced parenting practices across racially and ethnically diverse families (Rodriguez et al, 2021). The goal of the present study was therefore to advance the field of parenting research through the establishment of measurement invariance of both positive and negative parenting practices across diverse racial and ethnic groups using the MAPS to better understand how ethnoracial equivalence in the context of a multidimensional scale of parenting.…”

“…Second, due to data collection methods of earlier projects, examining groups based on a combination of ethnicity and race was not possible (i.e., for some projects, ethnicity and race were not assessed independently and multiple choices were restricted). However, a major strength of this study was the inclusion of four major ethnoracial groups, including Asian American parents, a group that is not typically included in studying the psychometric properties of parenting scales (Rodriguez et al, 2021). Nevertheless, our analysis only focused on race and ethnicity, but future research will benefit from increased sample size and improved assessment to allow for comparisons from an intersectional lens to integrate multiple dimensions of a parent’s identity.…”

“…Results from this supplementary showed the same items flagged for uniform DIF in the main sample were flagged in the supplementary analyses, which provides greater confidence for our results. Despite these limitations, the strengths of this study included the large and racially/ethnically diverse sample, the inclusion of more than three racial and ethnic groups, the use of both IRT and factor analytic methods to assess measurement equivalence (Meade & Lautenschlager, 2004), and a large representation of fathers (42%), consistent with previous recommendations for parenting research (Rodriguez et al, 2021). A particularly noteworthy strength of this study was the inclusion of Asian parents, who have been underrepresented in previous research examining measurement equivalence This document is copyrighted by the American Psychological Association or one of its allied publishers.…”

“…However, if certain items differ in meaning across groups, they ultimately contribute to differences (or lack thereof) in total scores, which is empirically and clinically relevant information in study parenting behavior. However, very few parenting practice questionnaires that assess parents’ own reports of both positive (e.g., warmth) and negative (e.g., hostility) parenting domains have established measurement equivalence across diverse racial and ethnic groups in the United States (Rodriguez et al, 2021; Shaffer et al, 2022). Thus, the purpose of the present study was to advance this area of research by evaluating measurement equivalence across White, Hispanic, Black, and Asian American families, as the major ethnoracial groups in the United States.…”