Parentification Scale – Chinese Version

Description

Boundary confusion, also known as boundary dissolution, refers to the phenomenon of chaotic psychological traits or interpersonal relationship roles (Kerig, 2005). According to family systems theory, clear boundaries are key to healthy family functioning. Clear boundaries enable individuals to assume appropriate family roles, signify developmental differences among family members, and provide opportunities for individuals to meet their emotional needs in developmentally appropriate ways. Confused boundaries can lead to role confusion between parents and children, such as determining who is the parent and who is the child. Conversely, excessively rigid boundaries may restrict family relationships and emotional connections among family members, interfering with children’s sense of belonging and mutual understanding. Kerig (2005) categorized boundary confusion into four dimensions: entanglement, infringement, role reversal, and parentification in parent-child relationships.

Entanglement refers to blurred boundaries among family members, allowing free intrusion into any subsystems, thus causing excessive involvement and limiting individual autonomy and development (Zeng Huijia, 2005). Infringement describes a common pattern of boundary confusion where parents are highly controlling and demanding, failing to respect children’s autonomy. Role reversal, also known as parentification, occurs when children take on roles that parents should fulfill, emotionally caring for parents or family members, essentially becoming parent figures. Parentification in parent-child relationships refers to situations where a parent treats a child as their emotional partner, creating a similar emotional bond to that of a romantic partner, frequently seen in cases like “mama’s boy” and “daddy’s girl.”

Research has shown that boundary confusion has significant effects on individuals. Over-controlling or hyper-vigilant mothers can instill a persistent sense of threat in children, leading to anxiety, helplessness, and suppressing the development of adaptive coping strategies (Cobham, Dadds & Spence, 1998; Rapee, 1997). Shaffer & Sroufe (2005) suggest that children in a state of boundary confusion prematurely shoulder adult stress, hindering their self-developmental needs, making them prone to maladaptive behaviors. Kerig (2005) posits that boundary confusion interferes with children’s development of autonomous self-awareness and results in role chaos within the family, as when parents impose inappropriate expectations on children, burdening them with responsibilities beyond their age.

Furthermore, Boyd-Franklin’s research on African American families indicates that within cultural contexts, low-income African American families may increase the responsibility of older siblings in caregiving tasks; however, as long as these responsibilities are clearly defined, they may not have adverse effects and can even foster the children’s growth (Kerig, 2005). Thus, parent-child boundary confusion may be interpreted differently under various cultural influences, leading to both positive effects that promote child development and negative effects that hinder successful individuation from parents.

Authors and Contact Email

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Purpose

The purpose of the research is to explore parentification and its impact on children, particularly focusing on role reversal and emotional pairing in parent-child relationships.

Test Year

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Administration Method and Scoring

A parentification scale was developed based on the concept of boundary confusion proposed by Kerig (2005) to measure role reversal and emotional pairing. The scale consists of seven dimensions: “非特定家庭责任” (Non-specific family responsibilities), “父亲的情绪配偶” (Father as emotional partner), “母亲的情绪配偶” (Mother as emotional partner), “手足的父母” (Siblings as parents), “父母的父母” (Parents as parents), “不公平感” (Feeling of unfairness), and “羞愧罪疚” (Guilt and shame), making a total of 30 items, with 3 to 5 items for each subscale. The dimensions “手足的父母” (Siblings as parents) and “父母的父母” (Parents as parents) were used to measure role reversal; “父亲的情绪配偶” (Father as emotional partner) and “母亲的情绪配偶” (Mother as emotional partner) were used to assess emotional pairing. The scale adapted 16 items: 10 for role reversal and 6 for emotional pairing, using a Likert scale of 1 to 5, where 1 indicates “never” and 5 indicates “always,” with higher scores indicating higher degrees of parentification.

Reliability and Validity

The internal consistency coefficient of the scale is 0.88, with reliability coefficients of the subscales ranging from 0.74 to 0.86, suggesting good reliability. In this study, the internal consistency coefficient of the questionnaire after measurement was 0.831, with reliability for “手足的父母” (Siblings as parents), “父母的父母” (Parents as parents), and emotional pairing being 0.690, 0.780, and 0.837, respectively, demonstrating the scale’s good reliability.

Factors and Subscales

Dimensions:
– 非特定家庭责任 (Non-specific family responsibilities)
– 父亲的情绪配偶 (Father as emotional partner)
– 母亲的情绪配偶 (Mother as emotional partner)
– 手足的父母 (Siblings as parents)
– 父母的父母 (Parents as parents)
– 不公平感 (Feeling of unfairness)
– 羞愧罪疚 (Guilt and shame)

Keywords

Boundary confusion, parentification, role reversal, emotional pairing, family dynamics

Items in Chinese

1. 我负责协调兄弟姐妹间的冲突，而父母亲是不管的。
2. 兄弟姐妹比较会向我寻求忠告建议，而比较不会向父母求助。
3. 我比父母亲更会去安慰心情不好的兄弟姐妹。
4. 我比父母更会管教兄弟姐妹的言行举止。
5. 当父母与兄弟姐妹争执时，我会当和事老居中协调。
6. 我会规劝父母改掉不好的生活习惯。
7. 我会苦口婆心和父母沟通他们的行为举止。
8. 我比父母更担起维持家人关系和谐责任。
9. 我会叮咛父母在日常生活上应需注意的事情。
10. 当父母冲突时，我会介入处理。
11. 母亲会与我分享她无法向别人诉说的心事，但不太会和父亲诉说。
12. 我比父亲更能安抚母亲的情绪。
13. 母亲会和我讨论她无法解决的问题，而不是和父亲讨论。
14. 父亲会与我分享他无法向别人诉说的心事，但不太会和母亲说。
15. 父亲做更重要决定时，比较会先和我讨论，而非先与母亲讨论。
16. 我比母亲更能安抚父亲的情绪。

Items in English

1. I am responsible for coordinating conflicts among my siblings while my parents do not intervene.
2. Siblings are more likely to seek advice from me than from our parents.
3. I comfort my siblings who are feeling down more than my parents do.
4. I discipline my siblings’ behavior more than my parents do.
5. When my parents and siblings have conflicts, I act as the mediator.
6. I try to persuade my parents to change their bad habits.
7. I repeatedly communicate with my parents about their behavior.
8. I take on the responsibility of maintaining harmonious family relationships more than my parents.
9. I remind my parents about things they should pay attention to in daily life.
10. When there are conflicts between my parents, I intervene.
11. My mother shares her unspeakable feelings with me but rarely with my father.
12. I am better at calming my mother down than my father.
13. My mother discusses problems she cannot solve with me rather than with my father.
14. My father shares his unspeakable feelings with me but not with my mother.
15. When my father makes important decisions, he often discusses them with me before discussing them with my mother.
16. I am better at calming my father’s feelings than my mother.

References

潘秋霞. 青少年亲子界限混淆、情绪表达冲突与自尊之间的关系研究[D].深圳大学,2019.DOI:10.27321/d.cnki.gszdu.2019.000897.
简汇育. 高中职生亲职化量表编制与其复原力身心健康之探讨[D].国立彰化师范大学,2011.