Validation of the mothers object relations scales in 2-4 year old children and comparison with the child-parent relationship scale

• Published in: Health and Quality of Life Outcomes 2013, Vol.11
• Main Authors: Simkiss, Douglas E, MacCallum, Fiona, Fan, Emma EY, Oates, John M, Kimani, Peter K, Stewart-Brown, Sarah
• Format: Report
• Language: English
• Subjects: Analysis; Children; Measurement; Object relations (Psychoanalysis); Parent and child; Parenting
• ISSN: 1477-7525; 1477-7525
• DOI: 10.1186/1477-7525-11-49

The quality of the parent-child relationship has an important effect on a wide range of child outcomes. The evaluation of interventions to promote healthy parenting and family relationships is dependent on outcome measures which can quantify the quality of parent-child relationships. Between the Mothers' Object Relations - Short Form (MORS-SF) scale for babies and the Child-parent Relationship Scale (C-PRS) there is an age gap where no validated scales are available. We report the development and testing of an adaptation of the MORS-SF; the MORS (Child) scale and its use in children from the age of 2 years to 4 years. This scale aims to capture the nature of the parent-child relationship in a form which is short enough to be used in population surveys and intervention evaluations. Construct and criterion validity, item salience and internal consistency were assessed in a sample of 166 parents of children aged 2-4 years old and compared with that of the C-PRS. The performance of the MORS (Child) as part of a composite measure with the HOME inventory was compared with that of the C-PRS using data collected in a randomised controlled trial and the national evaluation of Sure Start. MORS (Child) performed well in children aged 2-4 with high construct and criterion validity, item salience and internal consistency. One item in the C-PRS failed to load on either subscale and parents found this scale slightly more difficult to complete than the MORS (Child). The two measures performed very similarly in a factor analysis with the HOME inventory producing almost identical loadings. Adapting the MORS-SF for children aged 2-4 years old produces a scale to assess parent-child relationships that is easy to use and outperforms the more commonly used C-PRS in several respects.