The development of a scale for tuned-in parenting

Abstract

This article provides preliminary evaluation for a new and easy to use parental sensitivity scale, which is rated from a short videotaped play session with the parental figure. The five Tuned-In Parent Rating Scales (TIP-RS) have been developed for use with identified dyadic problems in infant–parent relationships and provide a window on the micro-behaviours that may contribute to the dyadic disjunctions. A sample of 88 mothers who contacted a community early parenting unit was filmed in interaction with their infants and completed surveys including the Depression Anxiety and Stress Scale (DASS) and the Edinburgh Postnatal Depression Scale (EPDS). Six trained coders rated the videos. Confirmatory factor analysis supported the unidimensionality of the TIP-RS. The TIP-RS total score was negatively correlated with both the EPDS (r[N = 42] = −.34, p = .024) and the DASS (r[N = 42] = −.43, p = .029), providing evidence for its concurrent validity. Inter-rater reliability across the six raters for each of the TIP-RS sub-scales and total score ranged from .68 to .83. The present results warrant continued investigation of the psychometric properties of the TIP-RS as a tool for intervention with targeted parent–child relationships.