Parent Affect Test – PAT
Measures parental emotional responses and behavioral urges in response to common positive and negative child behaviors.
Scale Development & Technical Details
Scale Overview
The Parent Affect Test – PAT was developed by Marsha M. Linehan, Elise Paul, & Kelly J. Egan (1983). It is designed to measure Parental affect and behavioral urges. The scale is intended for use with Parents.
Scale Structure
This instrument consists of 40 items organized into 2 factors/subscales: Negative Situations, Positive Situations.
| Factor / Subscale | Items | N |
|---|---|---|
| Negative Situations | 1,2,3,4,7,8,10,13,14,17,20,22,25,26,29,32,36,37,39,40 | 20 |
| Positive Situations | 5,6,9,11,12,15,16,18,19,21,23,24,27,28,30,31,33,34,35,38 | 20 |
Response Format
Respondents rate each item using a custom response format.
Response anchors: 1 = Feel angry / feel bad / feel tense / want to hit/spank / want to yell / want to send child to room, 2 = Moderately negative response, 3 = Slightly negative response, 4 = Neutral response, 5 = Slightly positive response, 6 = Moderately positive response, 7 = Feel pleased / feel good / feel relaxed / want to hug/kiss / want to praise / want to be with child.
Scoring
Items are scored by subscale, with each subscale sum representing a distinct dimension.
Psychometric Properties
Internal Consistency: The scale has demonstrated good to excellent internal consistency with reported Cronbach’s alpha values of High internal consistency (typically alpha > .80 for subscales).
Administration
The scale is self-administered and typically takes approximately 15 minutes to complete. It can be administered individually or in group settings. No special training is required for administration.