Parenting Role 
**************
 
**Summary**

The questions on the parenting role were taken from the Panel Analysis of Intimate Relationships and 
Family Dynamics (pairfam) project’s parenting questionnaire (Wendt et. al., 2011). The ten items can 
be combined into three scales: “autonomy,” “hostile attributions,” and “willingness to make 
sacrifices.” The questions on the parenting role have been asked in the SOEP since 2010 in the 
questionnaire for parents of children aged 7-8 years. 

**Theoretical Background**

The four items assessing “autonomy in the parenting role” are based on an instrument developed by 
Skinner and Regan (1992). The negative items measure the parents’ feelings of irksome dependence in 
their interaction with the child. Furthermore, it is assumed that the feeling of autonomy in the 
parenting role is also expressed as positive feelings towards the child. 
The three items of the scale “hostile attributions” are newly developed by pairfam and measure the 
parental disposition to interpret the child’s behavior as intentionally hostile or egoistic. 
The scale “willingness to make sacrifices” is an adapted version from the AGAPE scale developed by 
Bierhoff, Grau, & Ludwig (1993) to assess parents’ willingness to make sacrifices in their relationship 
with their child. 

**Scale Development**

Information on the scale development can be found in the documentation provided by pairfam (Wendt 
et. al., 2011). 

**References**

*Bierhoff, H. W., Grau, I., & Ludwig, A. (1993). Marburger Einstellungsinventar für Liebesstile 
(MEIL). Göttingen: Hogrefe.*

*Skinner, E. A., & Regan, C. (1992). Parenting sense of autonomy. Technical Report. University of 
Rochester, Rochester, NY.*

*Wendt, E.-V., Schmahl, F., Thönnissen, C., Schaer, M., & Walper, S.(2011). Scales Manual of the 
German Family Panel. pairfam (Panel Analysis of Intimate Relationships and Family Dynamics). 
Bremen, Chemnitz, Munich.*

**Items**

Autonomy

	1. I have the feeling that taking care of my child/my children takes up all my strength and that my whole life revolves around it (R) (Ich habe das Gefühl, dass Betreuung und Erziehung meines Kindes mich völlig in Beschlag nehmen, mein ganzes Leben bestimmen). 
	2. I wish I didn’t feel so trapped by my parental duties (R) (Ich wünschte, ich würde mich durch meine Elternpflichten nicht so gefangen fühlen). 
	3. When I am with my child/children there is nothing else I’d rather be doing (Wenn ich mit meinem Kind zusammen bin, gibt es nichts anderes, was ich lieber täte). 
	4. I look forward to spending time with my child/children (Ich freue mich darauf, mit meinem Kind zusammen zu sein). 

Scale: 1 (Not at all / stimme überhaupt nicht zu) to 5 (Absolutely / stimme voll und ganz zu) 

Hostile Attributions

	1. When my child disobeys and breaks rules, he/she just wants to annoy me (Wenn mein Kind nicht gehorcht und etwas Verbotenes tut, will es mich ärgern). 
	2. If there are any problems with the way I raise my child, then it’s my child’s fault (Wenn es Probleme in der Erziehung gibt, liegt das an meinem Kind). 
	3. It seems to me that when my child misbehaves, he/she does it intentionally (Ich denke, wenn mein Kind sich falsch verhält, macht es das mit Absicht). 

Scale: 1 (Not at all / stimme überhaupt nicht zu) to 5 (Absolutely / stimme voll und ganz zu) 

Readiness to Make Sacrifices

	1. I am usually willing to sacrifice my own desires to satisfy those of my child (Gewöhnlich bin ich bereit, meine eigenen Wünsche denen meines Kindes zu opfern). 
	2. I would put up with anything for the good of my child (Ich würde alles aushalten für das Wohl meines Kindes). 
	3. I often stop what I am doing to offer help to my child (Ich lasse oft alles stehen und liegen, um mein Kind zu unterstützen). 

Scale: 1 (Not at all / Stimme überhaupt nicht zu) to 5 (Absolutely / Stimme voll und ganz zu) 

**Items and Scale Statistics**

.. csv-table::
   :file: csv/16_parentingrole.csv
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   :class: longtable
   :widths: 2 2 2 1 1 2 1