Reliability and Validity of the Mother-Child Neglect Scale

The current study offers a new way to ascertain information about child neglect by evaluating a self-report measure of neglectful behaviors, the Mother-Child Neglect Scale (MCNS). The scale was modified from an existing self-report measure, the Neglect Scale (NS), which was originally designed to me...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Child maltreatment 2004-11, Vol.9 (4), p.371-381
Main Authors: Lounds, Julie J., Borkowski, John G., Whitman, Thomas L.
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Adolescent Mothers
Adult
Assessment
Behavior
Child abuse & neglect
Child Abuse - psychology
Child Neglect
Child, Preschool
Childrearing practices
Children
Convergent validity
Evaluation
Female
Follow-Up Studies
Humans
Male
Measurement
Measures
Mother-Child interactions
Mother-Child Relations
Parent Child Relations
Parents & parenting
Preschool children
Psychometrics - statistics & numerical data
Reliability
Reproducibility of Results
Scales
Self report
Selfreport measures
Severity
Social Desirability
Surveys and Questionnaires
Test-Retest reliability
Validity
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Summary:The current study offers a new way to ascertain information about child neglect by evaluating a self-report measure of neglectful behaviors, the Mother-Child Neglect Scale (MCNS). The scale was modified from an existing self-report measure, the Neglect Scale (NS), which was originally designed to measure personal histories of neglect. One hundred adolescent mothers were administered the MCNS and NS in two occasions via phone interviews. In addition, maternal abuse potential and the quality of mother-child interactions were assessed when children were age 3 and 5 years. The MCNS had high internal consistency and moderate test-retest reliability. Convergent validity was found between the MCNS and maternal histories of neglect as well as observed parenting behaviors and child abuse potential; those relationships remained after social desirability was controlled. This research tool may prove useful, in conjunction with existing assessment instruments, in determining the type and severity of past neglectful behaviors.
ISSN:1077-5595
1552-6119
DOI:10.1177/1077559504269536