Research Article

Measurement Invariance of the Positive Parenting Scale Across Child Gender and Parental Educational Attainment

Number: 2026 July 1, 2026
TR EN

Measurement Invariance of the Positive Parenting Scale Across Child Gender and Parental Educational Attainment

Abstract

Positive parenting is widely recognized as a multidimensional and universal construct encompassing diverse caregiving practices that promote children’s healthy development. Ensuring that parenting measures operate equivalently across different demographic groups is essential for making meaningful comparisons in family research. The present study examined the measurement invariance of the Positive Parenting Scale (PPS) across child gender and parental educational attainment among parents of children aged 4-6 years in Türkiye. Data were collected from parents using a convenience sampling approach, and responses were obtained through self-report measures. The participants consisted of a total of 473 parents, including 67.65% women (n = 320) and 32.35% men (n = 153). Multi-group confirmatory factor analysis was conducted to test configural, metric, scalar, and strict measurement invariance of the PPS across the specified groups. The findings supported measurement invariance across both child gender and parental educational attainment, indicating that the scale operates equivalently across these demographic groups. These results show that PPS scores can be meaningfully compared across parents of girls and boys as well as across different parental educational levels. Establishing measurement invariance provides further support for the use of the PPS in research and applied settings involving diverse parent populations in early childhood contexts.

Keywords

References

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Details

Primary Language

English

Subjects

Scale Development, Family Counseling

Journal Section

Research Article

Publication Date

July 1, 2026

Submission Date

May 23, 2026

Acceptance Date

June 1, 2026

Published in Issue

Year 2026 Number: 2026

APA
Biçener, E., & Koçtürk, N. (2026). Measurement Invariance of the Positive Parenting Scale Across Child Gender and Parental Educational Attainment. Journal of Family Counseling and Education, 2026. https://doi.org/10.32568/jfce.1957646
AMA
1.Biçener E, Koçtürk N. Measurement Invariance of the Positive Parenting Scale Across Child Gender and Parental Educational Attainment. JFCE. 2026;(2026). doi:10.32568/jfce.1957646
Chicago
Biçener, Eda, and Nilüfer Koçtürk. 2026. “Measurement Invariance of the Positive Parenting Scale Across Child Gender and Parental Educational Attainment”. Journal of Family Counseling and Education, nos. 2026. https://doi.org/10.32568/jfce.1957646.
EndNote
Biçener E, Koçtürk N (July 1, 2026) Measurement Invariance of the Positive Parenting Scale Across Child Gender and Parental Educational Attainment. Journal of Family Counseling and Education 2026
IEEE
[1]E. Biçener and N. Koçtürk, “Measurement Invariance of the Positive Parenting Scale Across Child Gender and Parental Educational Attainment”, JFCE, no. 2026, July 2026, doi: 10.32568/jfce.1957646.
ISNAD
Biçener, Eda - Koçtürk, Nilüfer. “Measurement Invariance of the Positive Parenting Scale Across Child Gender and Parental Educational Attainment”. Journal of Family Counseling and Education. 2026 (July 1, 2026). https://doi.org/10.32568/jfce.1957646.
JAMA
1.Biçener E, Koçtürk N. Measurement Invariance of the Positive Parenting Scale Across Child Gender and Parental Educational Attainment. JFCE. 2026. doi:10.32568/jfce.1957646.
MLA
Biçener, Eda, and Nilüfer Koçtürk. “Measurement Invariance of the Positive Parenting Scale Across Child Gender and Parental Educational Attainment”. Journal of Family Counseling and Education, no. 2026, July 2026, doi:10.32568/jfce.1957646.
Vancouver
1.Eda Biçener, Nilüfer Koçtürk. Measurement Invariance of the Positive Parenting Scale Across Child Gender and Parental Educational Attainment. JFCE. 2026 Jul. 1;(2026). doi:10.32568/jfce.1957646