Psychometric Evaluation of the Parental Reflective Functioning Questionnaire in Chinese Parents

Panqin Ye; Jiawen Ju; Kejun Zheng; Junhua Dang; Yufang Bian

doi:10.3389/fpsyg.2022.745184

Psychometric Evaluation of the Parental Reflective Functioning Questionnaire in Chinese Parents

Front Psychol. 2022 Jan 28:13:745184. doi: 10.3389/fpsyg.2022.745184. eCollection 2022.

Authors

Panqin Ye¹, Jiawen Ju¹, Kejun Zheng¹, Junhua Dang², Yufang Bian^{1

3

4}

Affiliations

¹ Collaborative Innovation Center of Assessment for Basic Education Quality, Beijing Normal University, Beijing, China.
² Department of Surgical Sciences, Faculty of Medicine, Uppsala University, Uppsala, Sweden.
³ Child and Family Education Research Center, Beijing Normal University, Beijing, China.
⁴ Institute of Mental Health and Education, Beijing Normal University, Beijing, China.

Abstract

Parental reflective functioning (PRF) is important for parenting and child development. To effectively assess PRF in Chinese parents, this study aimed to revise the Parental Reflective Functioning Questionnaire (PRFQ) for the Chinese context. The original Chinese version of the PRFQ (PRFQ-C) was revised by following psychometric validation procedures in a sample of Chinese parents (N = 2,021, 1,034 mothers and 987 fathers). A series of psychometric analyses, including confirmatory factor analysis (CFA), internal consistency reliability analysis, discriminant validity, and criterion-related validity analysis, and analysis for measurement invariance between mothers and fathers, were conducted. The CFA results indicated that the final 12-item, three-factor model had a good fit {χ ²(49) = 472.381; CFI = 0.929; TLI = 0.904; RMSEA = 0.065, 90%CI = [0.060, 0.071]}. The Chinese version of the PRFQ with 12 items (PRFQ-12C) showed satisfactory reliability (omega = 0.68-0.82), discriminant validity [heterotrait-monotrait (HTMT) values < 0.85], and criterion-related validity. The PRFQ-12C also had measurement invariance across mothers and fathers. In conclusion, the PRFQ-12C is psychometrically sound and can be applied in China.

Keywords: Chinese parents; confirmatory factor analysis; measurement invariance; parental reflective functioning; scale adaptation.