Abstract:
Straus, Hamby, Finkelhor, Moore, and Runyan developed the Parent-Child Conflict Tactics Scales (CTSPC) as a brief tool to improve the ability of the already existent Conflict Tactics Scales (CTS) to obtain data on physical and psychological child maltreatment. The CTSPC is a 35-item parent-report measure that provides information regarding the presence and severity of parenting behaviors associated with child maltreatment. The assessment takes 6-8 minutes to complete and consists of six scales: Nonviolent Discipline; Psychological Aggression; Physical Assault; Supplemental Questions on Discipline in the Previous Week; Neglect; and Sexual Abuse. The CTSPC modified the original CTS to revise the psychological aggression and physical assault scales, replace the reasoning scale with the nonviolent discipline scale, and add supplemental scales to measure neglect and sexual abuse, as well as supplemental questions on discipline methods used in the previous week. The CTSPC was validated in 2018 by Allison Cotter, Kaitlin Proctor and Elizabeth Brestan-Knight. Their study found that observed parent behaviors relate to parents’ reported use of psychological aggression, corporal punishment, and assault, and that the measure should be interpreted at the subscale level. (CVR Abstract)