An ego-strength scale for the Child Abuse Potential Inventory

A series of investigations were conducted to develop an ego-strength scale from items in the Child Abuse Potential Inventory. Using a two-dimensional model of ego-strength, face valid items were selected. After an initial screening of face valid items using Barron's ego-strength scale, a multiple criterion item validation process was conducted using factors from the 16PF questionnaire. This procedure produced a 40-item ego-strength scale where all items had significant item-total correlations. Internal consistency and temporal stability of the ego-strength scale were found to be adequate. Factor analyses suggested the ego-strength scale is unitary, measuring emotional stability in relationships. Moderator variable effects were found to be modest. Most important, ego-strength scale data collected from nurturing parents, general population parents, at-risk parents, and groups engaging in various forms of family violence yielded scores that discriminate between groups in a predictable manner.