There are five sub-scales to the AAPI-2. Responses are converted to sten scores that compare the participant’s responses to a normal distribution. Sten scores in the 1 to 3 range indicate high risk parenting attitudes. Scores in the 4 to 7 sten range indicate moderate to average risk. Scores in the 8 to 10 sten range indicate low risk.
The AAPI-2 provides risk scores in five parenting behaviors known to contribute to the maltreatment of children.
- Inappropriate Expectations of Children
- Parental Lack of Empathy Towards the Needs of Children
- Strong Parental Belief in the Use of Corporal Punishment
- Reversing Parent-Child Family Roles
- Oppressing Children’s Power and Independence.
The validity and reliability of the AAPI-2 is well established.
Content Related Validity: Item and factor analyses of the data generated from the field-testing of nearly 1,500 adults and adolescents from 53 agencies in 23 states formed the basis of norming and validating the AAPI-2.
Construct Related Validity: The AAPI-2 consists of two parallel forms. Factor loadings obtained from the Factor Analysis and the corresponding correlations between the two forms ranging from .80 to .92 and between the constructs ranging from .75 to .49 strongly support the validity of the inventory.
Reliabilities: The Spearman-Brown and the Cronbach estimates of internal reliability range from .80 to .93 on both Form A and Form B of the AAPI-2.
Diagnostic capabilities of the AAPI-2 with adolescents show that nearly 13% of 2500 non-abused teens participating in the study had factor scores -1 or more standard deviations below the mean. Discriminatory abilities of the AAPI-2 indicate significant overall mean differences (p< .001) between abused and non-abused teens across all factors. Further analyses indicated significant overall mean significant (p< .001) differences between males and females in both abused and non-abused groups.
Diagnostic capabilities of the AAPI-2 with adults mirror the findings of the adolescent population. Between 13% to 19% of the scores fell -1 to -2 standard deviations below the mean. Discriminatory abilities of the AAPI-2 with adults also found that the mean scores of adults identified as abusive were significantly (p< .001) different from non-abusive adults across all factors. The mean scores of male and female adults in both the abusive and non-abusive groups were also significantly (p<. 001) different in all factors.
For over 30 years, the Adult-Adolescent Parenting Inventory has been utilized in studies assessing the differences of abusive and non-abusive parents and abused and non-abused adolescents. Studies have also incorporated the AAPI in assessing the effectiveness of programs designed to treat and prevent initial or recurring episodes of child maltreatment. The reader is encouraged to log on to www.google.com and type in adult adolescent parenting inventory to review the thousands of sites referencing the AAPI.