Maternal Emotional Style Questionnaire – MESQ
Measures maternal beliefs and reactions to children's negative emotions, distinguishing between emotion coaching and emotion dismissing styles.
Scale Development & Technical Details
Scale Overview
The Maternal Emotional Style Questionnaire – MESQ was developed by Lagacé-Séguin & Coplan (2005). It is designed to measure Parental Emotion Philosophy. The scale is intended for use with Parents (specifically mothers).
Scale Structure
This instrument consists of 14 items organized into 2 factors/subscales: Emotion Dismissing, Emotion Coaching.
| Factor / Subscale | Items | N |
|---|---|---|
| Emotion Dismissing | 3,5,6,7,10,11,12 | 7 |
| Emotion Coaching | 1,2,4,8,9,13,14 | 7 |
Response Format
Respondents rate each item using a 5-point Likert scale (1 = Strongly Disagree to 5 = Strongly Agree).
Scoring
Items are scored by subscale, with each subscale sum representing a distinct dimension.
Total scores range from 7 to 35. Interpretation guidelines:
- Low alignment with style: 7 – 17
- Moderate alignment with style: 18 – 27
- High alignment with style: 28 – 35
Psychometric Properties
Internal Consistency: The scale has demonstrated good to excellent internal consistency with reported Cronbach’s alpha values of Emotion Coaching alpha = 0.92, Emotion Dismissing alpha = 0.90.
Administration
The scale is self-administered and typically takes approximately 5 minutes to complete. It can be administered individually or in group settings. No special training is required for administration.