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The Knowledge of Effective Parenting Scale (KEPS): A Tool for Public Health
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J Primary Prevent
DOI 10.1007/s10935-012-0268-x
ORIGINAL PAPER
The Knowledge of Effective Parenting Scale (KEPS): A Tool
for Public Health Approaches to Universal Parenting
Programs
Leanne Winter • Alina Morawska •
Matthew Sanders
Ó Springer Science+Business Media, LLC 2012
Abstract Improving the knowledge, skills, and
confidence of parents is often the aim of parenting-
focused public health strategies and parenting pro-
grams, yet research on parental knowledge is limited
compared with research on other parenting variables.
In this study, a nonclinical sample of 62 parents of
children aged 2–3 years was assessed for knowledge
of child development processes and milestones [using
the Knowledge of Infant Development Inventory
(KIDI)] and knowledge of effective parenting strate-
gies [using the Knowledge of Effective Parenting
Scale (KEPS)], along with self-reported measures of
parenting dysfunction and nurturance, parental confi-
dence, parental affective state, and problematic child
behavior. Additionally, in-home observations of par-
ent–child interactions were conducted with dependent
measures of aversive and non-aversive parent behav-
ior, a composite measure of parenting competence,
and aversive child behavior. Results showed that
KEPS scores were significantly negatively related to
self-reported parenting dysfunction, internalized prob-
lematic child behavior, and parental anxiety, and
positively related to observed parenting competence.
Knowledge as assessed by the KIDI was significantly
positively associated only with KEPS scores. These
L. Winter (&)
A. Morawska
M. Sanders
School of Psychology, Parenting and Family Support
Centre, The University of Queensland,
Brisbane 4072, Australia
e-mail: l.winter@uq.edu.au
results suggest that increasing parental knowledge of
effective parenting strategies at a population level is
likely to be more beneficial to parents than increasing
their knowledge of child development processes and
milestones.
Keywords Parental knowledge
Parenting
competence
Child behavior
Introduction
There is little doubt that parenting practices
have a large impact on child development (Collins,
Maccoby, Steinberg, Hetherington, & Bornstein,
2000). Although evidence-based parenting interven-
tions can be effective in reducing behavioral and
emotional problems in children, relatively few parents
access traditional clinic-based services (Sanders,
2010). By comparison, a public health approach to
parenting support involves targeting entire popula-
tions of families and children in order to reduce the
prevalence rates of inadequate parenting, child mal-
treatment, and behavioral and emotional problems in
children (Sanders, 2008). Recently, the international
recognition of the need for wider implementation of
evidence-based parenting programs has increased
substantially. Examples of international policy initia-
tives promoting improvements to parenting knowl-
edge, skills, and confidence as public health strategies
123

include recent recommendations from the American
Psychological Association (APA, 2009) task force on
the prevention of child maltreatment, the U.S. Centers
for Disease Control and Prevention (Mercy, 2009),
and the World Health Organization (2009). The recent
U.S. Institute of Medicine’s consensus report, Pre-
venting Mental, Emotional, and Behavioral Disorders
Among Young People: Progress and Possibilities, also
recommends that parenting programs be more widely
disseminated as prevention interventions (National
Research Council and Institute of Medicine, 2009).
Improving the knowledge, skills, and confidence of
parents is often the aim of parenting-focused public
health strategies and parenting programs; however,
while much research has focused on parenting skills
(Guajardo, Snyder, & Petersen, 2009; Stack, Serbin,
Enns, Ruttle, & Barrieu, 2010) and parenting confi-
dence (Jones & Prinz, 2005), relatively little research
has focused on parental knowledge. Public health
policymakers and parenting program developers
would benefit from a greater understanding of which
types of parental knowledge are most likely to be
beneficial to parents. Furthermore, there is a need to
develop parental knowledge measures that are valid
and reliable, change-sensitive, and readily deployable,
and that can facilitate the tracking of clinical inter-
vention outcomes, particularly in terms of assessing
intervention achievements within clinical settings
against the benchmarks set by randomized controlled
trial (RCT) research.
The aim of this study was to assess the predictive
validity of a new measure of parental knowledge: the
Knowledge of Effective Parenting Scale (KEPS;
Morawska, Sanders, & Winter, 2007), which consists
of items drawn from the content of The Triple P Positive
Parenting Program (Sanders, 2008). Designed specifi-
cally for public health application, Triple P is a multi-
level parenting and family support strategy based on
behavioral and social learning theories that aims to
prevent behavioral, emotional, and developmental
problems in children by increasing the confidence and
behavioral competence of parents. To this end, parents
are taught positive parenting principles and procedures,
and in more than 43 RCTs, Triple P has demonstrated its
effectiveness in reducing dysfunctional parenting prac-
tices, rates of child maltreatment, and intensity of
problematic child behavior at both the clinical and
population levels (Nowak & Heinrichs, 2008; Prinz,
Sanders, Shapiro, Whitaker, & Lutzker, 2009; Sanders,
123
J Primary Prevent
2008). Therefore, as an assessment tool used to measure
knowledge of effective parenting strategies, the KEPS
has excellent content validity.
It has recently been suggested that parental knowledge
falls under the umbrella term of parent ‘‘cognitions,’’
which include subjective measures of parenting beliefs,
values, and attitudes, along with objective measures, i.e.,
criterions of knowledge that are professionally devel-
oped, grounded in science, and considered to be valid and
reliable (Bornstein, Cote, Haynes, Hahn, & Park, 2010).
Of the measures assessing evidence-based knowledge,
research has focused almost exclusively on parental
knowledge of child development processes and mile-
stones, with little consideration of alternative types of
parental knowledge. Currently, there is a paucity of
research on which types of parental knowledge are most
strongly associated with other parent-related variables,
such as parenting confidence and competence, and
therefore there is a limited understanding of which types
of parental knowledge are most likely to benefit parents
in terms of preventing child maltreatment and reducing
problematic child behavior.
Knowledge and Child Development Outcomes
and Behavior
The Knowledge of Infant Development Inventory
(KIDI; MacPhee, 1981) is one of the most commonly
used tools to assess parental knowledge. Specifically,
it combines knowledge of parenting practices, devel-
opmental processes, health and safety guidelines, and
norms and milestones related to infant development up
to 24 months. KIDI scores have been positively
correlated with cognitive and motor performance in
infants (Dichtelmiller et al., 1992) and with child IQ
scores at 36 months (Benasich & Brooks-Gunn,
1996). However, Benasich and Brooks-Gunn (1996)
found that parents with less knowledge (assessed as
more simplistic explanations for child behavior)
reported significantly more child behavior problems,
a relationship which was not significant when knowl-
edge was assessed using the KIDI. It could be that
more complex types of parental knowledge can better
predict child behavior problems.
Knowledge and Parenting Competence
Parenting competence has been operationalized in
various ways when considering its relationship to
J Primary Prevent
parental knowledge. Lower knowledge of child
development processes has been linked to increased
potential for child abuse or neglect in adolescent
mothers (Dukewich, Borkowski, & Whitman, 1996;
Hammond-Ratzlaff & Fulton, 2001). Quality of the
home environment has been positively associated
with knowledge of child development processes and
milestones in some high-risk (Benasich & Brooks-
Gunn, 1996) and minority samples (Huang, Caughy,
Genevro, & Miller, 2005) but not in White middle-
class samples (Huang et al., 2005). Bornstein and Cote
(2003) found that Japanese-American mothers’ KIDI
scores were positively correlated with their sense of
parenting competence; however, lower self-reported
parenting dysfunction has been found to be associated
with greater knowledge of effective parenting strate-
gies (Morawska, Winter, & Sanders, 2009) and
knowledge of appropriate discipline (Rhoades &
O’Leary, 2007) within nonclinical samples. Only a
few studies have found an association between
parental knowledge of child development processes
and milestones and quality of observed parent–child
interactions. In one study, lower levels of mother–
child conflict were observed during play interactions
involving more knowledgeable mothers of preterm
infants at 12 months (Veddovi, Gibson, Kenny,
Bowen, & Starte, 2004). However, other than finding
that White mothers who underestimated their chil-
dren’s abilities on the KIDI showed less sensitivity
during a mother–child teaching task (Huang et al.,
2005), neither Huang et al. (2005), Conrad et al.
(1992), nor Hess et al. (2004) found a direct relation-
ship between KIDI scores and observed parenting
quality within middle-class samples.
In sum, the strongest support of a link between
developmental knowledge and quality of parenting
has been found in high-risk samples. In contrast,
greater knowledge of arguably more complex types of
parental knowledge has been associated with lower
parenting dysfunction in general population samples.
This suggests that for universal parenting programs
striving to improve parenting competence at a popu-
lation level, knowledge of child development may not
be the best type of parental knowledge to promote.
Knowledge and Other Parenting Variables
Parenting confidence, often referred to as ‘‘parenting
self-efficacy’’ and broadly defined as the level of a
parent’s self-belief about their ability to succeed in the
parenting role, has been inconsistently linked with
parental knowledge. Conrad et al. (1992) found that
mothers’ knowledge of child development processes
and milestones, assessed using the KIDI, was moder-
ately positively associated with their level of confi-
dence. In contrast, Hess et al. (2004) found no
significant direct association between KIDI scores
and maternal self-efficacy. Similarly, Morawska et al.
(2009) found no significant association between
knowledge of effective parenting strategies and level
of parenting confidence.
Despite the consistent finding of a link between
parent psychopathology and both parenting compe-
tence and negative child development outcomes (Coie,
1996), few studies have examined the relationship
between parental knowledge and parental emotional
adjustment. These studies have consistently found that
parents with higher scores on the KIDI report signif-
icantly lower rates of depression (Huang et al., 2005;
Veddovi et al., 2004). The relationship between
parental knowledge of effective parenting strategies
and parental emotional adjustment has not yet been
examined.
Knowledge and Demographic Variables
Higher income and education levels have been shown
to be positively related to both greater knowledge of
child development processes and milestones (Conrad
et al., 1992; Hess et al., 2004; Huang et al., 2005) and
greater knowledge of effective parenting strategies
(Morawska et al., 2009). However, it remains unclear
whether parental knowledge is associated with parental
age (Bornstein et al., 2010; Culp, Culp, Blankemeyer,
& Passmark, 1998; Fry, 1985) or parity (Bornstein
et al., 2010; Hess et al., 2004; Huang et al., 2005;
Morawska et al., 2009).
Why Knowledge of Effective Parenting
Strategies?
It has been argued that knowledge of child develop-
ment processes and milestones provides parents
with a global cognitive mechanism for anticipating
and responding to a child’s developmental changes
(Stoiber & Houghton, 1993). However, it has also
been suggested that this type of knowledge is too
narrow, lacking adequate predictive ability for
123

assessing complex interactions between parents and
children (Azar, Robinson, Hekiman, & Twentyman,
1984) and that it may be quickly forgotten by parents
as their child moves past each developmental stage
(Bornstein et al., 2010), limiting the long-term benefit
of improving this type of knowledge. Commonly used
measures assessing knowledge of child development
processes and milestones are limited to parents of very
young children, so evidence-based measures suitable
for parents of older children are scarce. Furthermore,
research has concentrated on high-risk samples, such
as adolescent mothers and mothers of preterm infants,
and there is some evidence that knowledge of child
development processes and milestones is not directly
associated with parenting competence in other sam-
ples. Ultimately, when the aim of a prevention-
focused, universal parenting program is to improve
parenting competence, to reduce child maltreatment,
and to reduce the prevalence rates of child behavioral
and emotional problems, it makes sense intuitively
that it might be more beneficial for parents to increase
their knowledge of specific parenting strategies
empirically linked with these outcomes rather than
their knowledge of developmental processes and
milestones in infants and toddlers. Thus, there is a
need for a valid and reliable tool to assess this type of
knowledge that is suitable for a broad range of parents.
The aim of the present study was to assess the
predictive ability, and therefore the validity, of the
KEPS (knowledge of effective parenting strategies),
and to compare it to the predictive ability of the KIDI
(knowledge of child development processes and
milestones) in a nonclinical sample of parents using
both self-report measures and direct observation.
Hypotheses
Consistent with Morawska et al. (2009), it was
expected that parents with greater knowledge of
effective parenting strategies would report lower
levels of parenting dysfunction (H1). Due to previous
inconsistencies, no other predictions were made
regarding the relationships between either type of
parental knowledge and the other major variables.
Consistent with previous findings, it was expected that
parents with greater knowledge of both child devel-
opment processes and milestones and knowledge of
effective parenting strategies would report higher
education and income levels (H2).
123
J Primary Prevent
Methods
Design
This study used a cross-sectional, concurrent design.
Participants and Procedure
Ninety-four parents of children aged 2–3 years were
initially recruited from across metropolitan Brisbane,
Queensland, Australia; these parents constituted a
convenience sample. Although the KEPS is suitable
for parents of children aged 2–10 years, the KIDI is
suitable only for parents of children up to age
3 years. Therefore, recruitment was targeted at
parents of children aged 2–3 years. We placed
advertisements in a Brisbane parenting magazine,
an online social networking media site, and in
playgroup and primary school newsletters directing
interested parents to a website to obtain further
information about the study (the breakdown of total
respondents recruited from each advertising source
was 17, 45, 10, and 10 %, respectively, while 18 %
heard about the study from word of mouth or other
sources). The website contained an information page
that provided the details of the study and a consent
option which parents could click on if they were
willing to participate in the study. Participants were
then presented with the online questionnaires, which
took approximately 30 min to complete. Parents with
more than one child in the target age group were
asked to respond in relation to the child with the most
behavioral difficulties, or if there were no differences
in behavior among the children, in relation to their
youngest child. After completing the online ques-
tionnaires, parents were asked if they would consent
to participating in a videotaped home observation
with their child. Consenting parents were then asked
to provide their name and contact information to
facilitate the arrangement of a convenient time to
conduct the in-home observation. On average, in-
home observations were conducted within 2 weeks
of completion of the online questionnaires. At the
end of the in-home observation, parents were thanked
for their time with one free movie ticket and a copy
of a parenting advice handbook. Parents who did not
consent to the in-home observation remained anon-
ymous and were not rewarded for their participation
in the study.
J Primary Prevent

Of the 94 parents initially recruited, 62 (60 mothers, Table 1 Demographic characteristics and between-group
2 fathers) completed both the self-report measures and comparisons of the in-home observation (N = 62) and no
observation (N = 32) groups
the in-home observation. In this group, mean parental
age was 35.0 years (SD = 4.64, range = 24–50), and Observation No v2 (p)
mean child age was 2.7 years (SD = .70). Engage- n (%) observation
n (%)
ment in paid employment was reported by 71.0 % of
parents. Sixty parents identified their ethnicity as Parent education level
White Australian, one as Asian, and one did not report \Year 10 1 (1.6) 1 (3.1) 17.60 (.003)
it. The remaining 32 parents (31 mothers, 1 father) Year 10/11 0 (0) 4 (12.5)
completed only the self-report measures and declined Year 12 6 (9.7) 7 (21.9)
to participate in the in-home observation. In this Trade/TAFE 7 (11.3) 8 (25.0)
group, mean parental age was 33.6 years (SD = 7.88, college
range = 21–62), and mean child age was 2.7 years University degree 30 (48.4) 8 (25.0)
(SD = .73). Engagement in paid employment was Postgraduate 17 (27.4) 4 (12.5)
reported by 56.3 % of parents, and all 32 parents qualification
reported their ethnicity as White Australian. Other Unreported 1 (1.6) 0 (0.0)
demographic characteristics and group differences are Annual household income
shown in Table 1. Chi-square analyses indicated that \$25,000 3 (4.8) 5 (15.6) 16.36 (.003)
parents who declined to participate in the in-home $25,000–$50,000 5 (8.1) 6 (18.8)
observation had significantly lower education and $50,001–$70,000 4 (6.5) 8 (25.0)
income levels and were less likely to be married than $70,001–$90,000 14 (22.6) 3 (9.4)
those who participated in the in-home observation. [$90,000 35 (56.5) 9 (28.1)
Independent groups t tests on the self-reported major Marital status
variables (Table 2) showed that parents who partici- Married 48 (77.4) 15 (46.9) 12.83 (.012)
pated in the in-home observation had significantly Divorced 0 (0) 2 (6.3)
greater knowledge and significantly less internalized Separated 4 (6.5) 3 (9.4)
child behavior problems than those who declined to Defacto 6 (9.7) 10 (31.3)
participate in the in-home observation. There were no Never married or 3 (4.8) 2 (6.3)
significant differences between the groups for any defacto
other major variable. All major analyses were con- Unreported 1 (1.6) 0 (0)
ducted using only the data collected from the 62 Parity (total no. of children)
parents who participated in the in-home observation. 1 12 (19.4) 5 (15.6) 5.74 (.220)
Ethical clearance for the present study was sought and 2 36 (58.1) 15 (46.9)
received in accordance with the ethical review 3 10 (16.1) 7 (21.9)
processes of The University of Queensland, Australia C4 2 (3.2) 5 (15.6)
and within the guidelines of the U.S. National Health Unreported 2 (3.2) 0 (0)
and Medical Research Council.

Measures Suitable for parents of children aged 2–10 years, the

The KEPS (Morawska et al., 2007) is used to assess
parents’ knowledge of parenting principles and proce-
dures that have been empirically shown in numerous
RCTs of the Triple P-Positive Parenting Program
(Nowak & Heinrichs, 2008; Prinz et al., 2009; Sanders,
2008) to improve parenting competence, reduce child
maltreatment, and provide positive outcomes for the
management and prevention of problematic child
behavior, and as such, it has good content validity.
KEPS assesses parental knowledge across four broad
areas: promotion of development (developing positive
relationships, encouraging desirable behavior, and
teaching new skills and behaviors); principles of
effective parenting (ensuring a safe and engaging
environment, creating a positive learning environment,
having realistic expectations, and taking care of oneself
as a parent); use of assertive discipline; and causes of
behavior problems. Respondents choose their answer
to 28 multiple-choice questions from four possible

123
 J Primary Prevent

Table 2 Means, standard deviations, and between-group comparisons for the major variables
Variable M (SD) M (SD) t (p)
Observation No observation
(N = 62) (N = 32)

Parental knowledge
KEPS 23.62 (2.75) 21.78 (3.02) -2.96 (.004)
KIDI 23.62 (2.97) 23.17 (3.37) -.61 (.547)
Problematic child behavior
ECBI 125.03 (37.27) 130.93 (32.01) .87 (.338)
SDQ 1.35 (.36) 1.53 (.51) 2.03 (.045)
Parenting dysfunction/nurturance
PS 2.77 (.70) 2.88 (.56) 0.80 (.429)
PPQ 4.22 (.37) 4.33 (.41) 1.31 (.195)
Parenting confidence
PTC 8.33 (1.11) 8.11 (1.54) -0.74 (.462)
Parental emotional adjustment
DASS-21 (depression) 2.06 (2.76) – –
DASS-21 (anxiety) 1.56 (2.19) – –
DASS-21 (stress) 5.77 (3.20) – –
Observed child aversive 9.27 (11.97) – –
Observed parenting competence 19.26 (13.76) – –
KEPS Knowledge of Effective Parenting Scale, KIDI Knowledge of Infant Development Inventory, ECBI Eyberg Child Behavior
Inventory, SDQ Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire, PS Parenting Scale, PPQ Parenting Practices Questionnaire, PTC Parenting
Tasks Checklist, DASS-21 21-Item Depression Anxiety Stress Scale

response options. Each question answered correctly is
scored as one point. In a pilot study, the KEPS was
shown to have satisfactory test–retest reliability
(r = .70) and internal consistency (a = .73) (Winter,
2012). In the present study, internal consistency was
a = .59. (Internal reliability reported for the KEPS, as
with all the measures used in this study, was calculated
using only data collected from the 62 parents who
participated in the in-home observations.)
The KIDI (MacPhee, 1981) consists of 75 items
designed to assess parental knowledge across three
areas: child development norms and milestones,
parenting practices, and parenting principles. In this
study, a 30-item version of the KIDI was used. In this
version, 13 items require the respondent to indicate
whether they ‘‘agree,’’ ‘‘disagree,’’ or ‘‘aren’t sure’’ in
response to a statement relating to three knowledge
areas. The other 17 items relate to the age an infant
would be expected to achieve certain milestones.
Respondents indicate whether they ‘‘agree,’’ ‘‘dis-
agree,’’ or ‘‘aren’t sure.’’ When respondents disagree
with a statement, they are asked to indicate if
achievement of the milestone would normally be at
either a younger or older age; however, over-/under-
estimate scores were not calculated in this study. Each
correct answer is scored as one point. Internal
consistency for the 30-item version of the KIDI has
been reported to be satisfactory (a = .70) (Huang
et al., 2005), as it was in this study (a = .67).
The Eyberg Child Behavior Inventory (ECBI;
Eyberg & Pincus, 1999) is a 36-item questionnaire
that measures parental perceptions of externalized
problematic behavior in children. The questionnaire
results in two specific measures of child behavior: an
intensity score, rated on a 7-point Likert-type scale,
which assesses parental perceptions of the frequency
of occurrence of disruptive behavioral problems; and a
problem score, which indicates the number of behav-
iors perceived to be problematic on a ‘‘yes’’/‘‘no’’
scale. In the present study, only the intensity scores
were utilized as we were interested in the overall
frequency of disruptive behavior, for which internal
consistency was high (a = .93). The intensity score
clinical cut-off for this measure is 131.
The Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire
(SDQ; Goodman, 1997) is a behavioral screening

123
J Primary Prevent
questionnaire for emotional and behavioral disorders
in children and adolescents in which parents indicate
how true statements are of their child. It consists of
25 items across five subscales: emotional symptoms
(5 items); conduct problems (5 items); hyperactivity/
inattention (5 items); peer relationship problems
(5 items); and prosocial behavior (5 items). Internal
consistency and test–retest reliability have both been
reported to be satisfactory (r = .61 and .70, respec-
tively) (Goodman, 1997). In the current study, only the
emotional subscale was used as it represents a measure
of internalized problematic child behavior. In a
nonclinical population, mean scores are expected in
the range of 0–3. In this study, internal consistency for
the emotional subscale was satisfactory (a = .59).
The Parenting Scale (PS; Arnold, O’Leary, Wolff,
& Acker, 1993) is a 30-item questionnaire that
measures three dysfunctional discipline styles: laxness
(permissive discipline), over-reactivity (authoritarian
discipline), and hostility (use of verbal or physical
force). Each item requires the parent to rate the
likelihood of using a particular discipline strategy in
response to common child misbehaviors using a
7-point Likert-type scale. Item scores are summed
and then averaged to give a total score ranging from 1
to 7. In the current study, only the total score was used
as we were interested in an overall measure of
parenting dysfunction, and internal consistency was
found to be good (a = .88). The PS is a valid and
reliable tool, with good test–retest reliability
(r = .84), and is recommended as a tool for measuring
parenting skill (Locke & Prinz, 2002).
The Parenting Practices Questionnaire (PPQ;
Robinson, Mandleco, Frost Olsen, & Hart, 1995) is a
62-item instrument that assesses parenting styles
(responsiveness, coercion, and psychological control).
Parents rate their own behavior on a 5-point Likert-type
scale ranging from 1 (never) to 5 (always) while thinking
about interactions with their child (e.g., ‘‘I give comfort
and understanding when my child is upset’’). As we were
interested in assessing parental nurturance, we combined
the 5 items from the responsiveness subscale with 4
items from the warmth and involvement subscale. The
PPQ overall has adequate internal consistency (a = .71;
Hart, Nelson, Robinson, Olsen, & McNeilly-Choque,
1998). In the current study, internal consistency for all 9
items was satisfactory (a = .77).
The Parenting Tasks Checklist (PTC; Sanders &
Woolley, 2005) consists of 28 items designed to assess
task-specific self-efficacy in parents. Parents rate how
confident they are in dealing with difficult child
behavior in common parenting situations. Confidence
is rated on a scale from 0 (Certain I cannot do it) to 10
(Certain I can do it). Two dimensions are measured:
behavioral self-efficacy (confidence in dealing with
specific child behaviors) and setting self-efficacy
(confidence in different settings). Both scales (each
has 14 items) have been shown to have good internal
consistency (a = .97 and .91, respectively; Sanders &
Woolley, 2005). Ratings across both domains were
averaged to give a measure of overall confidence, and
internal reliability across all items was found to be
high (a = .95).
The 42-item Depression Anxiety Stress Scale
(DASS-42; Antony, Bieling, Cox, Enns, & Swinson,
1998) is used to assess symptoms of depression,
anxiety, and stress in adults. Parents respond to
statements such as ‘‘I found myself getting upset by
quite trivial things’’ on a 4-point Likert type scale rang-
ing from 1 (did not apply to me at all) to 4 (applied to
me very much, or most of the time) in relation to the
past week. In this study, the 21-item version of the
DASS (DASS-21) was used, and internal consistency
for all three scales was satisfactory (a = .86, .77, and
.76, respectively). The DASS-21 has good convergent
and discriminant validity (Antony et al., 1998). Scores
on each scale can range from 0 to 21. This measure
was completed by parents during the ‘‘busy parent’’
segment of the in-home observation, so it was not
completed by parents who declined to participate in
the in-home observation.
Observations
Observations of 15-min duration were conducted in
the consenting parents’ homes. The observations
consisted of four timed segments: 3 min of free play
in which the parent and child played with their own
toys; 6 min of a compliance task in which the parent
and child played with a game provided by a researcher
and involved the parent giving simple instructions to
the child; 2 min of a second compliance task in which
the parent instructed the child to pack up the game; and
4 min in which the parent was made ‘‘busy’’ by
completing the DASS-21 questionnaire and another
filler task while the child had to play alone. The
observations were videotaped by a researcher and
steps were taken to reduce the effects of reactivity
123

including not interacting with the child and position-
ing the camera as far away as was reasonable. Coding
of the observations was done by a researcher and
trained research assistants using the Family Observa-
tion Schedule (FOS; Sanders, 2000), which has
demonstrated reliability and discriminant validity
(Sanders & Christensen, 1985; Sanders, Dadds, &
Bor, 1989). The FOS is a microanalytic coding system
in which the presence or absence of particular
behaviors of both the parent and child are scored in
consecutive 10-s intervals. Dependent measures
derived from the observation system were: percentage
of intervals of aversive child behavior (e.g., noncom-
pliance, complaint, physical negative); parent aversive
and non-aversive behavior; and a composite measure
of parenting competence defined as the percentage of
intervals where the parent engaged in praise, positive
physical contact, or affection towards the child. Inter-
rater reliability (Kappa) was calculated using 20 % of
the observations, and substantial agreement was
achieved for both parent and child codes (M js =
.67 and .61, respectively).
Statistical Analysis
All major analyses were conducted using SPSS
software (SPSS Inc., Chicago, IL, USA) and using
data collected only from those parents who partici-
pated in the in-home observation (N = 62). Bivariate
Pearson correlations were calculated to determine the
strength of zero-order relationships between the major
variables. A significance level of .05 was used for all
analyses.
Results
Relationships Between Parental Knowledge
and Other Major Variables
Means and standard deviations for the major variables
are presented in Table 2. Aversive parent behavior
was not observed during any of the in-home observa-
tions. Therefore, as all observed parent behavior was
non-aversive (excluding those intervals when the
parent did not interact with the child), these measures
were excluded from further analyses.
As shown in Table 3, knowledge of effective
parenting strategies (KEPS) was significantly
123
J Primary Prevent
negatively associated with self-reported parenting
dysfunction, internalized problematic child behavior,
and anxiety. KEPS scores were also significantly
positively associated with observed parenting compe-
tence. Knowledge of child development processes and
milestones (KIDI) was significantly positively related
to knowledge assessed by the KEPS, but it was not
significantly related to any other major variable.
Relationship Between Parental Knowledge
and Demographic Variables
Knowledge of Effective Parenting Scale scores were
significantly positively related to income level
(r = .39, p = .002) but not education level (r = .17,
p = .188), parity (r = -.18, p = .174), or parental
age (r = -.08, p = .558). KIDI scores were not
significantly related to income level (r = -.05,
p = .707), education level (r = .20, p = .131), parity
(r = -.05, p = .707), or parental age (r = -.21,
p = .108).
Relationship Between Observed and Self-
Reported Parent and Child Behavior
Neither self-reported parenting dysfunction nor self-
reported parental nurturance was significantly related
to the composite measure of observed parenting
competence. The three observed parent behaviors that
were combined to form this measure (praise, positive
contact, and affection) were each tested using Pearson
correlations to determine the strength of their individ-
ual relationship to both self-reported parenting com-
petence measures. Parents observed to use more praise
reported significantly less parenting dysfunction
(r = -.26, p = .038), whereas positive contact and
affection were not significantly related to parenting
dysfunction (r = -.08, p = .537, and r = -.10,
p = .457, respectively). The observed use of praise
(r = .24, p = .064), positive contact (r = -.05,
p = .65), and affection (r = .19, p = .141) were not
significantly related to self-reported parental nurtur-
ance. Affection was significantly positively correlated
with both praise and positive contact (r = .66,
p \ .001, and r = .49, p \ .001, respectively), but
praise and positive contact were not significantly
related to each other (r = .05, p = .680).
Parent-reported frequency of externalized child
behavior (ECBI) was not a significant zero-order
J Primary Prevent

Table 3 Intercorrelations between the major variables (N = 62)

Measure 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12
r (p) r (p) r (p) r (p) r (p) r (p) r (p) r (p) r (p) r (p) r (p)

Parental knowledge
1. KEPS – .390 .039 - -.312 -.021 .041 - -.253 -.138 .181 .251
(.002) (.769) .262 (.014) (.873) (.756) .111 (.047) (.285) (.159) (.049)
(.041) (.391)
2. KIDI – - - -.171 .139 - - -.156 .107 .125 .058
.086 .232 (.183) (.284) .105 .027 (.230) (.407) (.335) (.652)
(.517) (.072) (.419) (.837)
Problematic child behavior
3. ECBI – .345 .450 -.439 - .114 .223 .169 .056 -.043
(.008) (\.001) (.001) .081 (.389) (.090) (.201) (.676) (.749)
(.547)
4. SDQ – .289 -.214 - .324 .390 .143 - -.206
(.024) (.100) .108 (.011) (.002) (.271) .157 (.110)
(.408) (.226)
Parenting dysfunction/nurturance
5. PS – -.487 - .198 .256 .379 .156 -.156
(\.001) .322 (.124) (.044) (.002) (.226) (.225)
(.012)
6. PPQ – .427 - .217 -.101 - .066
(.001) .084 (.094) (.437) .097 (.614)
(.522) (.458)
Parenting confidence
7. PTC – - -.026 -.234 - -.095
.156 (.839) (.070) .132 (.467)
(.230) (.312)
Parental affective state
8. DASS-21 – .676 .663 .085 .067
(depression) (\.001) (\.001) (.513) (.606)
9. DASS-21 – .577 - -.080
(anxiety) (\.001) .007 (.534)
(.959)
10. DASS-21 (stress) – .162 .119
(.959) (.359)
11. Observed child – .436
aversive (\.001)
12. Observed parenting –
competence
KEPS Knowledge of Effective Parenting Scale, KIDI Knowledge of Infant Development Inventory, ECBI Eyberg Child Behavior
Inventory, SDQ Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire, PS Parenting Scale, PPQ Parenting Practices Questionnaire, PTC Parenting
Tasks Checklist, DASS-21 21-Item Depression Anxiety Stress Scale

predictor of observed child aversive behavior. The
latter was subsequently probed by way of a median
split separating the observational data into two groups:
‘‘high’’ and ‘‘low.’’ An independent groups t test
revealed that parents in the high child aversive
behavior group reported significantly higher ECBI
scores (M = 132.05, SD = 32.00) compared to
those in the low child aversive behavior group
(M = 116.43, SD = 24.93), t(57) = -2.10, p =
.041.

123

Discussion
The aim of this study was to assess the predictive
validity of a new measure of parental knowledge, the
KEPS (which assesses parents’ knowledge of effective
parenting strategies), and to compare it to the predic-
tive validity of the KIDI (which assesses parents’
knowledge of child development processes and mile-
stones) in a nonclinical sample of parents of children
aged 2–3 years.
It was expected that parents who demonstrated
higher knowledge on the KEPS would report signif-
icantly lower levels of parenting dysfunction (H1).
The results of this study supported this hypothesis, as
well as the findings of Morawska et al. (2009).
Furthermore, KEPS scores were significantly posi-
tively associated with observed parenting competence,
providing evidence that knowledge of effective par-
enting strategies is significantly associated with alter-
native measures of parenting competence. In contrast,
KIDI scores were not significantly associated with
either self-reported parenting dysfunction or observed
parenting competence, which is consistent with pre-
vious studies that did not find a direct relationship
between KIDI scores and observed parent–child
interactions (Conrad et al., 1992; Hess et al., 2004).
In addition, parents who knew more about effective
parenting strategies also reported significantly less
anxiety and less internalized problematic child behav-
ior, which was not the case when parents were
assessed for knowledge of child development pro-
cesses and milestones. The latter finding supports the
results of Benasich and Brooks-Gunn (1996), who
found that a more complex measure of parental
knowledge was superior to the KIDI in predicting
problematic child behavior. In regards to parent
emotional adjustment, the results of this study do not
support those of previous studies reporting a signifi-
cant relationship between depression and KIDI scores
(Huang et al., 2005; Veddovi et al., 2004). Overall, the
KEPS demonstrated greater predictive validity across
both parent- and child-related variables than the KIDI,
which was not significantly associated with any major
variable other than KEPS score, providing further
evidence of the construct validity of the KEPS.
Although the cross-sectional design of this study does
not permit causal inferences, the results suggest that
increasing parental knowledge of effective parenting
strategies is more likely to be more beneficial to
123
J Primary Prevent
parents than increasing knowledge of child develop-
ment processes and milestones. From a public health
perspective, in which the aim of universal parenting
interventions is to reduce child maltreatment and the
prevalence rates of child behavioral and emotional
problems, this is an important finding. Given the
limited time and resources available to most parenting
programs, policymakers and program developers with
a focus on prevention at the population level would do
well to focus on increasing the type of parental
knowledge that is most likely to result in positive
outcomes for both parents and children.
It was expected that each type of knowledge would
be positively related to both income and education
levels (H2). The results of this study partially supported
this hypothesis as parents with higher KEPS scores
reported higher income levels, but there was no
significant relationship between KEPS scores and
education level nor between KIDI scores and either
income or education level. These non-significant results
are inconsistent with previous findings (Conrad et al.,
1992; Hess et al., 2004; Morawska et al., 2009);
however, as the sample as a whole could be described as
having middle-to-high socioeconomic status (SES), it is
likely that a restricted range of education and income
scores contributed to the non-significant findings.
Counterintuitively, given that it might be expected
that more competent parents would have less child
behavior problems not more, observed parenting
competence was positively related to observed aver-
sive child behavior. However, a review of the obser-
vations revealed a parental tendency to respond to
upset, noncompliant children with the use of positive
physical contact and affection (both components of the
observed parenting competence measure) as a sooth-
ing strategy in an attempt to gain compliance. This is
common behavior for many parents. In a recent large-
scale study on the correlates of child emotional
problems, almost all parents reported using physical
contact and a soothing voice in response to distressed
behavior from children (Dittman et al., 2011). The
same study found that parental warmth and respon-
siveness was an effective strategy for dealing with
child distress. However, emotional distress may be
separated from anger and unhappiness at being asked
to do something, and it remains important for parents
first, to understand the importance of allowing
the child the opportunity to develop emotional
self-regulation and second, to not accidently reward
J Primary Prevent
non-compliance with affection. The implication for
prevention-focused, universal parenting programs is
that rather than being a skills-deficit issue, many parents
may need guidance on when to properly implement
skills and strategies already in their repertoire (e.g.,
praise, positive contact, and affection) and on how to
avoid accidentally rewarding problem behavior.
Although the rate of observed aversive child
behavior in this study was low, it is typical of that in
a nonclinical sample (Sanders et al., 1989), but the
lack of any observed parent aversive behavior is
atypical. Although the sample may have consisted of
generally competent parents, none are ever perfect, but
the study was limited by the inability of the observa-
tional method to capture aversive parenting behavior.
Task novelty and social desirability effects are likely
to have contributed to this outcome. However, while
the individual segments were designed to reflect
everyday parent–child interactions, it is likely that
observing more common high-conflict tasks, such as
getting ready for kindergarten or bedtime, may have
allowed a greater opportunity for aversive parenting
behavior. In addition, it would have been advanta-
geous for participants to have completed more than
one observation to allow for any reactivity effects to
diminish over time. A suggestion for future research is
for the study to be repeated incorporating more high-
conflict tasks across more than one observation. The
inclusion of a clinical comparison group would also be
beneficial.
As the sample consisted of predominately White,
middle-to-high SES parents, the findings are limited in
their generalizability to other parents, and it remains
possible that within a higher-risk, clinical sample, the
KIDI, most often used within such samples, may
demonstrate greater predictive validity than it did in
this study. However, this is also then likely to be the
case with the demonstrated predictive validity of the
KEPS. Specifically, associations between major vari-
ables would likely increase, rather than decrease, in
strength as the sample becomes more high-risk.
However, to further demonstrate its suitability for
use within prevention-focused, universal parenting
programs, it would be helpful to examine knowledge
of effective parenting strategies within nonclinical
samples of low-SES and non-White parents. Future
research might also further consider the concurrent
validity of the KEPS by examining the relationships
between knowledge and other parent- and child-
related variables in parents of older children. Simi-
larly, a future longitudinal study might examine the
relationship between KEPS scores at Time 1 and child
developmental outcomes at Time 2, thereby strength-
ening the evidence for the predictive validity of the
KEPS. Valid and reliable parenting knowledge mea-
sures could also be valuable for understanding the
change mechanisms of intervention, specifically in
tracking the changes to intervention outcome vari-
ables. Utilizing the KEPS, future research could
examine how changes to parental knowledge impact
changes to parenting confidence and dysfunction to
ultimately impact problematic child behavior.
In conclusion, the findings of this study indicate
that the KEPS has greater predictive validity than the
KIDI across demographic, parent, and child variables
in a general population (nonclinical) sample. The
implication for prevention research is that a popula-
tion-level effort to increase parental knowledge of
child development processes and milestones is
unlikely to reduce child maltreatment and problematic
child behavior, whereas increasing parental knowl-
edge of effective parenting strategies is a more likely
viable approach for enhancing parenting competence.
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