Scale Overview
The Maternal Emotional Style Questionnaire – MESQ was developed by Daniel G. Lagacé-Séguin & Robert J. Coplan (2005). It is designed to measure Parental Emotional Styles. The scale is intended for use with Parents of young children.
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 this emotional style: 7 – 17
- Moderate alignment with this emotional style: 18 – 27
- High alignment with this emotional 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.