Hostname: page-component-78c5997874-xbtfd Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-11-16T23:24:01.616Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

Parenting Today: A State-Wide Representative Survey of Contemporary Parenting Experiences

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  23 February 2018

Catherine Wade ,
Jan Matthews ,
Catherine A. Bent ,
Erica Neill ,
Zvezdana Petrovic ,
Jane Fisher ,
Annette Michaux  and
Warren Cann
Catherine Wade*
Affiliation:
Parenting Research Centre, East Melbourne, VIC, Australia
Jan Matthews
Affiliation:
Parenting Research Centre, East Melbourne, VIC, Australia
Catherine A. Bent
Affiliation:
Parenting Research Centre, East Melbourne, VIC, Australia
Erica Neill
Affiliation:
Parenting Research Centre, East Melbourne, VIC, Australia
Zvezdana Petrovic
Affiliation:
Parenting Research Centre, East Melbourne, VIC, Australia
Jane Fisher
Affiliation:
Jean Hailes Research Unit, Monash University, Melbourne, Australia
Annette Michaux
Affiliation:
Parenting Research Centre, East Melbourne, VIC, Australia
Warren Cann
Affiliation:
Parenting Research Centre, East Melbourne, VIC, Australia
*
address for correspondence: Catherine Wade, Parenting Research Centre, 5/232 Victoria Parade, East Melbourne, VIC 3002, Australia. E-mail: [email protected]
Get access Rights & Permissions [Opens in a new window]

Abstract

This article describes the study design of Parenting Today in Victoria: a representative survey of contemporary parenting experiences, behaviours, concerns and needs of parents. The aims of the study, sample design, survey content development processes, including pilot survey administration, data collection procedures and demographic characteristics of the sample are described. The survey was administered via computer assisted telephone interviewing using random dialling of landline and mobile phone numbers in 2016 to parents of children aged 0–18 years who were living in Victoria, Australia. The response rate was 57% with 2600 parents surveyed (40% fathers). The sample was broadly representative of the Victorian population on major demographic characteristics when compared to data from the Australian Census of Population and Housing (Australian Bureau of Statistics, 2011). However, adjustments were made for over representation of younger parents (16–34 years), more highly educated parents and for those living outside major cities. This survey provides rigorously collected, accurate and up-to-date information about the experiences, preferences and concerns of a large and representative sample of parents. Findings will provide vital new insights to inform policy decision making, service planning and future research aimed at understanding parents’ attitudes and behaviours, and the psychology behind their help-seeking.

Keywords

parentingchildrenadolescentsmethodologysurvey
Type
Articles
Information
Children Australia , Volume 43 , Issue 1 , March 2018 , pp. 77 - 85
Copyright
Copyright © The Author(s) 2018 

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

Anglicare Western Australia. (2013). The parenting perceptions report 2013: A survey of Western Australian parents of school age children. Western Australia: Anglicare.Google Scholar
Armstrong, M. I., Birnie-Lefcovitch, S., & Ungar, M. T. (2005). Pathways between social support, family well being, quality of parenting, and child resilience: What we know. Journal of Child and Family Studies, 14 (2), 269–281.Google Scholar
Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS). (2011). Census of population and housing. Retrieved from http://www.abs.gov.au/ausstats Google Scholar
Australian Curriculum Assessment and Reporting Authority. (2016). National Assessment Program – Literacy and Numeracy (NAPLAN). Retrieved from http://www.nap.edu.au/naplan Google Scholar
Australian Early Development Census. (2014). Findings from the AEDC. Retrieved from https://www.aedc.gov.au/ Google Scholar
Australian Institute of Family Studies. (2014). Longitudinal Survey of Australian Children: Annual statistical report 2013. Melbourne: Australian Institute of Family Studies.Google Scholar
Botvin. (2007). Life skills training questionnaire: Parental communication. Retrieved from http://www.lifeskillstraining.com/lst_outcome_tools.php Google Scholar
Davidov, M., & Grusec, J. E. (2006). Untangling the links of parental responsiveness to distress and warmth to child outcomes. Child Development, 77 (1), 44–58. doi: 0009-3920/2006/7701-0004.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Davis-Kean, P. E. (2005). The influence of parent education and family income on child achievement: The indirect role of parental expectations and the home environment. Journal of Family Psychology, 19 (2), 294–304.Google Scholar
DeVellis, R. F. (2012). Scale development: Theory and applications (Vol. 26). Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage publications.Google Scholar
Field, T. (2010). Postpartum depression effects on early interactions, parenting, and safety practices: A review. Infant Behavior and Development, 33 (1), 1–9. doi: 10.1016/j.infbeh.2009.10.005.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Garbarino, J., Bradshaw, C., & Kostelny, K. (2005). Neighborhood and community influences on parenting. In Luster, T. & Okagaki, L. (Eds.), Parenting: An ecological perspective (pp. 297–318). Mahwah, New Jersey: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates.Google Scholar
Giallo, R., Cooklin, A., Wade, C., D'Esposito, F., & Nicholson, J. M. (2014). Fathers' postnatal mental health and child well-being at age five: The mediating role of parenting behavior. Journal of Family Issues, 35 (11), 1543–1562. doi: 10.1177/0192513X13477411.Google Scholar
Guidubaldi, J., & Cleminshaw, H. (1985). The development of the Cleminshaw-Guidubaldi Parent Satisfaction Scale. Journal of Clinical Child Psychology, 14 (4), 293–298. doi: 10.1207/s15374424jccp1404_4.Google Scholar
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, 1–12.Google Scholar
Jones, T. L., & Prinz, R. J. (2005). Potential roles of parental self-efficacy in parent and child adjustment: A review. Clinical Psychology Review, 25 (3), 341–363.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Keating, D., & Hertzman, C. (1999). Developmental health and the wealth of nations: Social, biological, and educational dynamics. New York: Guilford Press.Google Scholar
Kessler, R., Andrews, G., Colpe, L. J., Hiripi, E., Mroczek, D. K., Normand, S.-L. T., . . . Zaslavsky, A. M. (2002). Short screening scales to monitor population prevalences and trends in non-specific psychological distress. Psychological Medicine, 32, 959–976. doi: 10.1017}S0033291702006074.Google Scholar
Lawrence, D., Johnson, S., Hafekost, J., Boterhoven De Haan, K., Sawyer, M., Ainley, J., & Zubrick, S. (2015). The mental health of children and adolescents: Report on the second Australian child and adolescent survey of mental health and wellbeing. Canberra: Department of Health.Google Scholar
McCain, M., & Mustard, J. F. (1999). Early years study: Final report: Reversing the real brain drain. Toronto: Canadian Institute for Advanced Research.Google Scholar
McLoyd, V. (1990). The impact of economic hardship on black families and children: Psychological distress, parenting and socioemotional development. Child Development, 61, 311–346.Google Scholar
Morawska, A., Ramadewi, M., & Sanders, M. (2014). Using epidemiological survey data to examine factors influencing participation in parent-training programmes. Journal of Early Childhood Research, 12 (3), 264–278.Google Scholar
Petrill, S., Pike, A., Price, T., & Plomin, R. (2004). Chaos in the home and socioeconomic status are associated with cognitive development in early childhood: Environmental mediators identified in a genetic design. Intelligence, 32, 445–460.Google Scholar
Repetti, R. L., Taylor, S. E., & Seeman, T. E. (2002). Risky families: Family social environments and the mental and physical health of offspring. Psychological Bulletin, 128 (2), 330–366. doi: 10.1037//0033-2909.128.2.330.Google Scholar
Sanders, M. (1999). The triple P-positive parenting program: Towards an empirically validated multi-level parenting and family support strategy for the prevention and treatment of child behavior and emotional problems. Clinical Child and Family Psychology Review, 2 (2), 71–90. doi: 10.1023/A:1021843613840.Google Scholar
Sanders, M., Morawska, A., Haslam, D., Filus, A., & Fletcher, R. (2013). Parenting and Family Adjustment Scales (PAFAS): Validation of a brief parent-report measure for use in assessment of parenting skills and family relationships. Child Psychiatry and Human Development, 45 (3), 255–272.Google Scholar
Shonkoff, J. P., & Meisels, S. J. (2000). Handbook of early childhood intervention. New York: Cambridge University Press.Google Scholar
Thayer-Hart, N., Dykema, J., Elver, K., Schaeffer, N., & Stevenson, J. (2010). Survey fundamentals: A guide to designing and implementing surveys. USA: University of Wisconsin.Google Scholar
The American Association for Public Opinion Research. (2016). Standard definitions: Final dispositions of case codes and outcome rates for surveys (9th ed.). Oakbrook Terrace, Illinois: AAPOR. Retrieved from http://www.aapor.org/Standards-Ethics/Standard-Definitions-(1).aspx Google Scholar
Votruba-Drzal, E. (2006). Economic disparities in middle childhood development: Does income matter? Developmental Psychology, 42 (6), 1154–1167.Google Scholar
Zubrick, S., Lucas, N., Westrupp, E., & Nicholson, J. (2014). Parenting measures in the longitudinal study of Australian children: Construct validity and measurement quality, Waves 1 to 4. Canberra: Australian Government Department of Social Services. Retrieved from http://www.growingupinaustralia.gov.au/pubs/technical/tp12.pdf Google Scholar