Measurement issues in the assessment of the experiences of parenthood

In spire of all the attention given to the complexity and diversity found within families, relatively little research exists that has made contemporary parents and their experiences of parenthood the unit of analysis. Within the limited research that exists, complex concepts, such as parent satisfaction, parental role strain, and parental competence, often are assessed with measures that lack an adequate conceptual and/or psychometric foundation. This article presents a general discussion of the conceptual and operational limitations found within the existing efforts to assess constructs central to the study of parents. This general discussion is followed by a review and critique of measures designed to assess concepts central to the research on contemporary parents. Recommendations for ways of improving the quality of measures also are discussed