Parents' beliefs about children's emotions questionnaire: psychometric properties of the Portuguese version among a sample of parents of school-aged children

The present study aims to explore the factor structure and psychometric properties of the Portuguese version of the Parents' Beliefs About Children's Emotions Questionnaire (PBACE), a self-report questionnaire composed of seven scales: Cost of Positivity, Value of Anger, Manipulation, Control, Parental Knowledge (PN), Autonomy and Stability. A confirmatory factor analysis was conducted to assess the factorial structure of PBACE (seven independent models corresponding to the seven scales and a seven-factor correlated model were tested), in a sample of 411 parents (83.2% mothers) of children aged 6-13 years old. All the analyzed models, except for the PN scale, presented an adequate fit. Adequate Cronbach's alpha values were found for all the scales, except for the PN and Stability scales. PBACE construct validity was attested by the significant correlations between the PBACE scales and child's temperament, parental neuroticism, parental anxiety, parental overprotection and parental support of child's coping behaviors. No gender differences were found in responses of PBACE scales. Therefore, the Portuguese version of the PBACE proved to be a psychometrically valid measure for assessing different parents' beliefs about children's emotions (positive and negative). However, the use of PN scale is not recommended given its low Cronbach alpha, poor fit to the data and weak or nonsignificant correlations with the remaining subscales.

Automated summary

This study explored the factor structure and psychometric properties of the Portuguese version of the Parents' Beliefs About Children's Emotions Questionnaire (PBACE). The questionnaire showed adequate fit and reliability for most of its scales, confirming its validity as a measure of parental beliefs about children's emotions. However, the use of one scale was not recommended.