The Parenting Norms and Stigma Scale is a 20-item tool measuring norms and stigma around parenting decisions in the context of unintended pregnancy. The scale uses items on hypothetical situations of a young woman who has chosen those pregnancy decisions. Items are organized into 4 sub-scales: conditional acceptability, anticipated reactions, stereotypes and attitudes.
Geographies Tested: United States of America
Populations Included: Female
Age Range: Adolescents, Adults
Conditional Acceptability
If a woman is going to keep the baby:
1. she should be in a committed relationship.*
2. she should have family support.*
3. she should have a job.*
4. she should have a stable place to live.*
5. she should have at least a high school degree.*
Response Options:
Strongly disagree - 1
Disagree - 2
Neither agree nor disagree - 3
Agree - 4
Strongly agree - 5
Anticipated Reactions
If you became pregnant accidentally, and decided to keep the baby, how likely is it that the people who matter most to you would feel the following ways:
6. Would be disappointed
7. Would be happy*
8. Would be mad
9. Would understand*
10. Would be supportive*
11. Would be ashamed
Response Options:
Extremely unlikely - 1
Unlikely - 2
Neutral - 3
Likely - 4
Extremely likely - 5
Stereotypes
Women my age who keep the baby after becoming pregnant accidentally:
12. Are usually low income
13. Usually are trying to keep their man
14. Usually are not well educated
15. Usually end up on welfare
Response Options:
Strongly disagree - 1
Disagree - 2
Neither agree nor disagree - 3
Agree - 4
Strongly agree - 5
Attitudes
16. In your opinion, how irresponsible is a woman your age who has the baby and raises it herself?
17. In your opinion, how mature is a woman your age who has the baby and raises it herself?*
18. In your opinion, how selfish is a woman your age who has the baby and raises it herself?
19. In your opinion, how strong is a woman your age who has the baby and raises it herself?*
20. In your opinion, how coldheartless is a woman your age who has the baby and raises it herself?
Response Options:
Not at all - 1
A little bit - 2
Somewhat - 3
Quite - 4
Extremely - 5
*Items reverse coded during scoring
Mean scores of sub-scales and total scale are calculated.
Rice, W. S., Turan, B., Stringer, K. L., Helova, A., White, K., Cockrill, K., & Turan, J. M. (2017). Norms and stigma regarding pregnancy decisions during an unintended pregnancy: Development and predictors of scales among young women in the U.S. South. PLoS ONE, 12(3), e0174210. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0174210
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