Parenting Practices (Chicago Survey)

Parenting practices will be measured through 47 questions on parent and adolescent reports (Gorman-Smith, Tolan, Zelli, & Huesmann, 1996). The Parenting Practices Measure, was derived from the parental supervision and discipline interview used in the Oregon Youth Study and Pittsburg Youth Study (Thornberry, Huizinga, & Loeber, 1995). Factor analyses have identified four factors 1) Positive Parenting, 2) Discipline Effectiveness, 3) Avoidance of Discipline, and 4) Monitoring. Positive parenting refers to the use of positive rewards and encouragement of appropriate behavior. Discipline effectiveness is a measure of how effective parental discipline is in controlling the youth’s behavior. Avoidance of discipline refers to the parent’s avoidance of providing consequences or disciplining for fear of the youth’s behavior escalating. Monitoring is a measure of monitoring and involvement in daily activity and routines and knowledge of youth’s whereabouts throughout the day. Reports of discipline effectiveness and avoidance of discipline are gathered from parents only. Estimates of positive parenting and extent of monitoring are gathered from both parent and child. Internal consistency reliabilities of each of the subscales ranged from .68 to .81. Confirmatory factor analyses have consistently identified two latent constructs of Discipline and Monitoring which will be the two indicators of parenting used in the family functioning composite (Gorman-Smith et al., 1996). All four factors in this inventory will be used as indicators of parenting practices.