Parent’s Negative Emotion Socialization Behavior Scale: Validity and Reliability Study

This study aimed to develop a valid and reliable ‘Parental Negative Emotion Socialization Behavior Scale (PNESBS)’ to determine the negative emotion socialization behaviors that parents exhibit in response to their children's negative emotions. The study involved a total of 730 parents, comprising 365 mothers and 365 fathers with children aged 60–72 months living in the western region of Turkey. The PNESBS scale is a 5-point Likert scale consisting of 12 scenarios and 72 items. During the development of the measurement tool, content and construct validity were assessed. For content validity, the draft form was sent to subject-matter experts, and the item content validity ratios were determined based on their feedback. Confirmatory Factor Analysis (CFA) was performed to examine the construct validity of the measurement tool. The CFA results confirmed the six-factor structure of the scale (emotion-focused, emotion expression-facilitating, problem-focused, punitive, dismissive, and parental distress). The measurement tool’s reliability was assessed using Cronbach's Alpha and found to be highly reliable (α = 0.983). In conclusion, the developed scale can be considered a valid and reliable tool for measuring parents' negative emotion socialization behaviors towards their children's negative emotions in the 60–72 month age range.