DEVELOPMENT OF THE PARENT ADULT RELATIONSHIP QUESTIONNAIRE (PARQ)

Relationships between adults and parents are characterized by positive and negative qualities. Existing measures of relationship qualities and ambivalence often rely on items that are unbalanced in number of positive and negative items, emotional tone, or missing negative items completely. Three studies established validity (construct, convergent, discriminant) and reliability (internal consistency, test-retest) for the Parent Adult Relationship Quality (PARQ) scale. Study I found high internal consistency and test-retest correlations among undergraduates. Study 2 found associations with measures of positive relationship quality and high test-retest correlations using a sample of parents. Study 3 established convergent and discriminant validity with other measures of relationship quality, including an observational measure. The PARQ is a succinct measure that captures positive and negative aspects of support and interactions in relationships between adults and their parents.