# AT A GLANCE

| **Type of tool**                | Observational tool to assess supportive parenting behaviors.                                                                                                                                     |
| ------------------------------- | ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- |
| **Areas assessed**             | 4 parent behavior areas—Affection, Responsiveness, Encouragement, Teaching.                                                                                                          |
| **Who conducts it**            | Home visitor, parent educator, early interventionist, early childhood teacher, infant mental health practitioner, social worker, nurse, and parents (self-assessment).                  |
| **Where it is conducted**      | In homes or other settings where parents and children are served.                                                                                                                       |
| **When it is conducted**       | No required administration times. Can be used at program entry throughout the year, and at program exit.                                                                               |
| **Age range of children**      | 10-47 months. Additional research being conducted with infants 4-10 months and children 4-6 years.                                                                                     |
| **Number of items**            | 29 items, organized in 4 domains.                                                                                                                                                        |
| **Sample item**                | **Item**: Parent speaks in a warm tone of voice  
**Observation guidelines**: Parent's voice is positive in tone and may show enthusiasm or tenderness. A parent who speaks little but very warmly should be coded highly.  
**Scores**: 0 = "absent"—no behavior observed  
1 = "barely"—brief, minor, or emerging behavior  
2 = "clearly"—definite, strong, or frequent behavior                             |
| **Time to complete**           | 10 minutes for observation.                                                                                                                                                             |
| **Time to score**              | 1-2 minutes.                                                                                                                                                                            |
| **Scores provided**            | Each item is rated with a value of 0(absent), 1(barely), or 2(clearly). Final score for each domain is a sum of individual item scores. A total of 4 domain scores provided.             |
| **Languages available**        | English (paper forms) and Spanish (photocopiable from User's Guide).                                                                                                                    |
| **Training**                   | Recommended DVD with 1-hour training presentation and 14 videos for scoring practice (available for purchase). In-person training also available through Brookes on Location (www.brookesonlocation.com). |
| **Research sample**            | More than 4,500 video observations of more than 2,000 families with diverse socio-economic and ethnic backgrounds.                                                                       |
| **Reliability**                | Inter-rater reliability: 0.77. Scale reliability: 0.78.                                                                                                                                 |
| **Validity**                   | Content validity: Parenting behaviors rated 2.58 on importance scale of 0-3  Construct validity: r=0.62  Predictive validity: r=0.19-0.24 at age 3; r=0.23-0.25 at age 5 (overall child development) |
| **Years in Development**       | 9 years.