Psychometric Properties of the Modified Parenting Attitudes Measure Among African American Adolescents in Public Housing

Valid and reliable measurements reflecting how perceived maternal and paternal parenting practices are similar, different, complementary, or additive in studying youth outcomes are critical for building knowledge on supportive parenting practices for African American youth living in public housing. We examined the psychometric properties of the Parental Attitudes Measure (PAM) which focuses on youths' attitudes on parenting practices. Data was collected from the perspective of 660 African American youth living in urban public housing across three cities in the northeast and mid-Atlantic region in the United States. Youth reported on their attitudes about maternal and paternal caregivers. Reliability was determined using Cronbach alpha (alpha) for internal consistency. An exploratory factor analysis (EFA) was used to examine the dimensions and loading of the construct with this population. A confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) examined the validity of the measure using four goodness-of-fit indices. Pearson correlations were used to test construct validity among the sample and across parent status (birth or non-birth parent) and residence in the household. The EFA indicated a two-factor structure with strong reliability for both maternal (alpha = 0.86, 0.84) and paternal (alpha = 93, 0.92) encouragement and supervision. The CFA supported a 2-factor model for both maternal and paternal PAM. Findings demonstrate high internal consistency of the PAM for use in examining maternal and paternal attitudes among African American youth living in public housing, generally, as well as by gender and across cities. The measure had good construct validity with maternal caregivers but only partially with paternal caregivers. The modified PAM was successfully validated for assessing both maternal and paternal caregivers among African American youth living in urban public housing.The modified PAM shows good construct validity with maternal caregivers, but only partially with paternal caregivers suggesting differences in youth's attitudes on paternal parenting practices based on gender, birth- or non-birth parent and parental residence.Future research should explore parental caregiving considering diverse family structures and stressors in environments marked by chronic daily stressors.