Validation of a Chinese translation of the Parents' Beliefs About Children's Emotions questionnaire and measurement invariance across Chinese and US mothers

Both theoretical and empirical work support variation in maternal beliefs about children's emotions across sociocultural contexts. Cross-cultural comparisons require valid scales measuring mothers' beliefs about children's emotions. Therefore, we translated the Parents' Beliefs About Children's Emotions (PBACE) questionnaire into Chinese. Confirmatory factor analysis was used to test measurement invariance between reports from mothers of 6- to 8-year-old children on Chinese (n = 163) and English (n = 164) versions. Five of the seven scales showed measurement invariance. Validity of the Chinese translation was assessed and obtained via correlations with maternal emotion coaching/dismissing styles and emotional expressivity. Mean comparisons of mothers' beliefs about children's emotions in China and the US were tested for the five invariant scales. US mothers reported stronger beliefs regarding the value of anger. Chinese mothers reported stronger beliefs regarding the negative consequences of excessive positive emotions, children's use of emotions to manipulate others, and whether children should deal with their emotions on their own. Chinese and US mothers were similar in the strength of their beliefs about children's capacity to control their emotions. Results support the utility of the Chinese translation of the PBACE for researchers interested in emotion-related socialization processes in Chinese families.
Author(s): Lin Tan [sup.1] , Cynthia L. Smith [sup.2] , Julie C. Dunsmore [sup.3] Author Affiliations: (1) grid.266871.c, 0000 0000 9765 6057, Department of Health Behavior and Health Systems, University [...]