Me as a Parent scale — Short Form

The Me as a Parent scale – Short Form (MaaPs-SF)¹ is a four-item measure of parenting self-efficacy. This brief scale is derived from an original 16-item Me as a Parent scale (MaaPs), developed by the Parenting Research Centre^2.

The MaaPs-SF may be useful as a measure of change in parenting self-efficacy across time, for example as a Pre-Post measure in a parenting program or in an evaluation of a service that offers parenting support. However, if parents’ scores are around the mean (average) at Pre it is unlikely there will be major changes from Pre to Post.

Although the MaaPs-SF will be used mostly for assessing aggregate (or group) changes in parent self-efficacy over time, it may also be useful to review scores of individual parents provided there is parent consent and the results are confidential. In this instance, a parent with a ‘low’ Pre score may be supported to focus on their parenting strengths, emphasising how their efforts can lead to observable changes in their child.

• Download the MaaPs-SF (PDF)
• To manually record scores on the MaaPs-SF over time, complete this record sheet.

How to interpret the score

Based on a representative sample of parents living in Victoria, Australia, in 2022, Table 1 depicts population norms (average scores) for the MaaPs-SF from a total sample of N = 2596.

Table 1. MaaPs-SF means and standard deviations in an Australian sample (2022)

Scores that are one standard deviation or more below the population mean may be viewed as a ‘low’ score, and an indication that a parent has a less than average perception of their parenting self-efficacy compared to other parents. Table 2 shows average and ‘low’ scores on parenting self-efficacy.

Table 2. MaaPs-SF means and standard deviations for parents of children in different age groups, in an Australian sample (2022)

Working with different cultural communities  

Since its publication, the MaaPs-SF has received widespread interest and has been adapted for use in culturally diverse communities. To expand research and clinical opportunities for using this tool, and ensure accessibility to a wider range of communities, we now offer the MaaPs-SF in the following translations: 

• Arabic
• Burmese
• Dari
• Simplified Chinese
• Vietnamese.

More information

• Read more about the Me as a Parent scale – Short Form (MaaPs-SF) in the Journal of Child and Family Studies
• Download one-page overview of the MaaPs-SF (PDF)
• Tips on using the MaaPS-SF (PDF)
• Video on using the MaaPs – SF with parents
• More about the original 16-item Me as a Parent scale (MaaPs)

References

1. Matthews, J., Millward, C., Hayes, L., & Wade, C. (2022). Development and Validation of a Short-Form Parenting Self-Efficacy Scale: Me as a Parent Scale (MaaPs-SF). Journal of Child and Family Studies, 1-11.

2. Hamilton, V. Matthews, J. & Crawford, S. (2014). Development and Preliminary Validation of a Parenting Self-Regulation Scale: “Me as a Parent”. Journal of Child and Family Studies. 24(10), 2853–2864.