Testing reliability and validity of practitioner-rated parental sensitivity: A novel tool for practice

Abstract

Improving parental sensitivity is an important objective of interventions to support families. This study examined reliability and validity of parental sensitivity ratings using a novel package of an e-learning tool and an interactive decision tree provided through a mobile application, called the OK! package. Independent raters assessed parental sensitivity using the OK! package (N = 11 raters) and the NICHD Parental Sensitivity rating scales (N = 22 raters) on the basis of videotaped mother-child interactions at 10- or 12-months-old (N = 294) and at 24-months-old (N = 204) from the Dutch longitudinal cohort study Generation². Mothers reported on children's externalizing and internalizing problems and social competence when children were 4 and 7 years old. Results showed excellent single interrater reliability for raters using the OK! package (mean ICC = .79), and strong evidence for convergent validity at 10- or 12-month-old (r = .57) and 24-month-old (r = .65). Prospective associations of neither parental sensitivity rated using the OK! package or the NICHD Parental Sensitivity rating scales with child developmental outcomes were statistically significant (p > .05), with overlapping 95% confidence intervals for both measures. The OK! package provides a promising direction for testing alternatives to current training and instruction modalities.