Graduate Thesis Or Dissertation
 

The efficiency of a retrospective pretest : how does the parenting ladder perform?

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https://ir.library.oregonstate.edu/concern/graduate_thesis_or_dissertations/ww72bf27h

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  • As program participants integrate new knowledge and understanding into previous standards regarding attitudes or perceptions, these altered standards violate the assumption of consistency inherent to the pretest-posttest method for measuring change over time. If this violation, or response-shift bias, is not controlled results can be misleading, which carries serious implications for program evaluations. This study extends the literature on retrospective pretests by addressing the efficiency of using a specific retrospective measure as an alternative to a traditionally measured pretest in controlling for response-shift bias. The Parenting Ladder is a measure is used as a traditional pretest, posttest, and retrospective measure of parental self-perceptions of knowledge, confidence, resources, social support, stress, and coping skills in Oregon's Healthy Start program evaluation. Using secondary data from 167 first time mothers who were enrolled in Oregon's Heathy Start program for a minimum of six months, this exploratory analysis found evidence of response-shift bias. This means that the mothers reported significantly lower levels of parental functioning in retrospect, when compared to initial ratings. The validity of the Parenting Ladder self-ratings were considered in relation to family functioning behaviors as observed by program staff. The retro/post measure of change assessed by the Parenting Ladder correlated more closely to the observed pre/post change over time, assessed by the Family Progress Scale. More research is needed with both the Parenting Ladder and the Family Progress Scale. Using a different measure to assess Parenting Ladder validity, rather than an observed measure such as the Family Progress Scale, is recommended.
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