Psychometric properties of JPSS (Japanese parenting style scale) between mother and father in West Java, Indonesia.

INTRODUCTION

Accurate measurement of parenting styles is essential for understanding disciplinary practices and comparing mother and father contributions in Indonesian cultural context. In this context, Japanese Parenting Style Scale (JPSS) assesses warmth, hostility, permissiveness, and harsh control, but psychometric evidence for Indonesian adaptation and measurement equivalence between mothers and fathers remains limited. Therefore, this research aimed to evaluate the initial psychometric properties of Indonesian version of JPSS and examine potential parental differences and measurement bias.

METHODS

Participants were parents of preschool-aged children recruited from several cities in West Java, Indonesia. Confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) was used to test the factor structure, while omega coefficients were adopted to assess internal consistency. Multiple Indicators Multiple Causes (MIMIC) method was applied to detect differential item functioning (DIF) between mothers and fathers.

RESULTS

The four-factor structure was supported with necessary item refinements during the adaptation process. The indicators showed meaningful loadings on the respective constructs. Reliability estimates for all dimensions ranged from adequate to excellent. Comparative analyses indicated that mothers reported higher levels of warmth and hostility than fathers, while permissiveness and harsh control were relatively comparable. DIF analyses identified several items in the warmth dimension that functioned differently across parental status, showing potential measurement bias in raw score comparisons.

DISCUSSION: Indonesian version of JPSS showed promising psychometric properties for assessing parenting styles. However, mother-father comparisons were interpreted with caution due to item-level measurement nonequivalence. Future research could include more diverse samples, formally test measurement invariance, and incorporate qualitative methods to strengthen validity evidence.