Interview Script of Parental Social Educative Skills (RE-HSE-P): Confirmatory validity study

Abstract

Instruments that assess the interactions between parental practices and behaviors together are rare, but the RE-HSE-P offers these capabilities. This study aimed to expand on the psychometric properties of the RE-HSE-P with two main objectives: (1) To verify the internal validity and consistency of the RE-HSE-P through confirmatory factor analysis, focusing on the internal structure of the original model defined by exploratory factor analysis with two factors—positive and negative—concerning the interactions between parental practices and behaviors; and (2) To assess the instrument’s discriminative validity across two age groups, children (preschoolers and schoolchildren) and adolescents, by referencing percentile distributions that identify interaction patterns in parental practices and behaviors. Participants were 360 parents/caregivers of boys and girls, aged between 4 and 16 years, who responded to instruments assessed on educational practices and children's behaviors. Confirmatory factor analysis was carried out, taking as reference the indices of structural equation models and the parameters of a good fit; for internal consistency, Cronbach's alpha was calculated and percentiles by groups were used to estimate cutoff points for risk/non-risk interactions. The results indicated good psychometric indicators, confirming the two-factor structure (Total Positive and Total Negative). The RE-HSE-P can be used for tracking risk/non-risk family interactions of parents/caregivers with children and adolescents and can help promote preventive and remedial interventions.