THE LEUVEN ADOLESCENT PERCEIVED PARENTING SCALE (LAPPS): RELIABILITY AND VALIDITY WITH FRENCH-SPEAKING ADOLESCENTS IN BELGIUM

The present study examined the reliability and validity of the Leuven Adolescent Perceived Parenting Scale (LAPPS), an instrument initially developed for use with Dutch-speaking adolescents in Belgium, in French-speaking adolescents living in that same country. The instrument was administered to a sample of French-speaking adolescents (N = 625) and a carefully matched sample of Dutch-speaking adolescents (N = 630). Internal consistency (Cronbach's alpha), factor structure, and mean scores for the LAPPS subscales were highly similar across linguistic region. Finally, the LAPPS subscales showed a differential pattern of associations with an alternative measure of adolescent-parent relationships (i.e., the Emotional Autonomy Scale; EAS) in the French-speaking subsample. These results clearly show that the LAPPS is a reliable and valid measure of perceived parenting in French-speaking adolescents in Belgium. Suggestions for future research on the reliability and validity of the LAPPS are outlined.