Dimensionality of the Chinese parent-child subsystem quality scale: Confirmatory factor analyses

Abstract

To understand family dynamics in Chinese families, the 17-item Chinese Parent-Child Subsystem Quality Scale was developed to assess three dimensions within the parent-child dyad (perceived behavioral control, psychological control, and parent-child relationship) in the father-adolescent dyad and mother-adolescent dyad. Previous findings based on exploratory factor analysis provided support for the three-factor structure. In this study, confirmatory factor analyses were used to re-analyze the Wave 1 data collected from 3,328 Chinese junior secondary school students in a longitudinal study in Hong Kong. Results showed that there was support for the three-factor structure. The present findings support the factorial validity of the scale and underscore the use of confirmatory factor analyses in clarifying the dimensions in measures of parent-child subsystem quality.