Perceptions of Parents Scales – The College-Student Scale(POPS)

1. Abstract

The Perceptions of Parents Scales – The College-Student Scale (POPS) is a multidimensional psychometric instrument developed within the conceptual architecture of Self-Determination Theory (SDT) by Richard M. Ryan, Edward L. Deci, and colleagues. Specifically adapted for late adolescents and emerging adults attending tertiary educational institutions (Robbins, 1994), the instrument operationalizes how university students perceive the parenting styles and relational climates provided by their maternal and paternal figures. Comprising 42 self-report items across parallel 21-item batteries for mothers and fathers, the scale measures key dimensions of parental functional support: Autonomy Support (encouragement of self-initiation, personal choice, and independent decision-making versus coercion and control) and Involvement (the dedication of psychological resources, unconditional positive regard, interest, time, and emotional warmth versus neglect or detachment). Respondents evaluate each item using a 7-point Likert scale anchored from 1 (“not at all true”) to 4 (“somewhat true”) to 7 (“very true”).

Extensive psychometric investigations have established that the College-Student POPS possesses robust construct validity, high internal consistency reliability (with subscale Cronbach’s alpha coefficients consistently ranging from .78 to .93), invariant factor structures across genders and familial configurations, and pronounced criterion-related validity. Empirical studies show that elevated perceptions of parental autonomy support and maternal/paternal involvement predict higher levels of intrinsic motivation, self-esteem, psychological well-being, adaptive identity exploration, and academic persistence, alongside diminished levels of depressive symptomatology, anxious distress, and academic burnout. The College-Student POPS remains one of the gold-standard measures in developmental, educational, and clinical psychology for capturing the lasting influence of parenting dynamics on emerging adult autonomy and relational health.

2. Keywords

Perceptions of Parents Scales, College-Student POPS, Self-Determination Theory, Autonomy Support, Parental Involvement, Emerging Adulthood, Psychological Well-Being, Intrinsic Motivation, Parenting Styles, Psychometrics

3. Authors

The theoretical foundations, construct definition, and psychometric development of the Perceptions of Parents Scales were established through the collaborative work of psychologists associated with the Human Motivation Research Group at the University of Rochester:

• Richard M. Ryan, Ph.D. — Professor Emeritus of Psychology at the University of Rochester and Professor at the Institute for Positive Psychology and Education, Australian Catholic University. Co-founder of Self-Determination Theory.
• Edward L. Deci, Ph.D. — Professor Emeritus of Psychology and Gowen Professor in the Social Sciences at the University of Rochester. Co-founder of Self-Determination Theory.
• Steven B. Robbins, Ph.D. — Researcher who specifically adapted and psychometrically validated the College-Student adaptation of the Perceptions of Parents Scales (Robbins, 1994) in collaboration with Ryan and Deci.
• Wendy S. Grolnick, Ph.D. — Professor of Psychology at Clark University, whose pioneering work on children’s perceptions of parental autonomy support and involvement (e.g., Grolnick & Ryan, 1989; Grolnick, Ryan, & Deci, 1991) provided the foundational conceptual model for the adult and college-student variants.

4. Purpose

The primary purpose of the Perceptions of Parents Scales – The College-Student Scale (POPS) is to quantitatively capture emerging adults’ subjective perceptions of their parents’ interpersonal socialization styles. Emerging adulthood represents a pivotal developmental juncture characterized by identity exploration, physical separation from the family home, financial and vocational identity consolidation, and renegotiation of filial boundaries. The College-Student POPS addresses the pressing empirical and clinical need to measure whether late adolescents experience their parents as empowering allies who facilitate self-governance or as controlling agents who restrict personal growth.

In academic and educational psychology research, the POPS is used to assess how parental autonomy support versus psychological control relates to learning orientation, academic self-efficacy, deep-level processing, and collegiate retention. When parents support autonomy, students internalize collegiate goals as self-congruent and intrinsically valued, buffering them against the stressors of rigorous coursework and transitional isolation. Conversely, controlling parenting often cultivates introjected regulation, causing academic anxiety, perfectionistic maladaptation, and higher dropout rates.

In clinical and counseling settings, university mental health professionals utilize the POPS to illuminate the etiologic family systems underlying presenting symptoms such as generalized anxiety, chronic low self-esteem, depressive withdrawal, and severe relational dependency. Assessing maternal and paternal figures independently allows clinicians to map asymmetrical dynamics—such as an over-involved controlling mother coupled with an emotionally detached father—thereby guiding family-of-origin psychotherapy and helping clients develop self-authored autonomy.

5. Psychological Construct

The POPS conceptualizes parenting along two core contextual dimensions hypothesized by Self-Determination Theory to foster or undermine basic psychological needs:

Autonomy Support

Autonomy Support refers to parental practices that acknowledge, respect, and nurture the emerging adult’s agency, volition, and authentic internal frame of reference. Autonomy-supportive mothers and fathers:

• Acknowledge their son’s or daughter’s perspective and emotional reactions rather than dismissing them (e.g., Item 1: “My mother seems to know how I feel about things”; Item 8: “My mother listens to my opinion or perspective when I’ve got a problem”).
• Encourage independent problem-solving, self-directed exploration, and authentic decision-making (e.g., Item 5: “My mother, whenever possible, allows me to choose what to do”; Item 19: “My mother helps me to choose my own direction”).
• Minimize the use of external coercion, manipulative guilt-induction, conditional regard, or rigid directives (e.g., reversed Item 2: “My mother tries to tell me how to run my life”; Item 14: “My mother insists upon my doing things her way”).

In late adolescence, autonomy support does not mean permissiveness or neglectful abandonment. Rather, it represents the provision of choice accompanied by non-coercive rationale, validating the young adult’s evolving values even when parental preferences diverge.

Involvement and Warmth

Involvement denotes the degree to which parents actively dedicate resources, energy, time, emotional availability, and unconditional affection to the emerging adult’s welfare. Highly involved parents convey genuine care, interest in personal accomplishments and setbacks, and continuous psychological availability (e.g., Item 3: “My mother finds time to talk with me”; Item 7: “My mother clearly conveys her love for me”; Item 10: “My mother makes me feel very special”; Item 18: “My mother puts time and energy into helping me”).

The construct contrasts warmth and attuned availability with psychological neglect, emotional coldness, rejection, or hyper-busy indifference (e.g., reversed Item 6: “My mother doesn’t seem to think of me often”; Item 12: “My mother often seems too busy to attend to me”; Item 13: “My mother is often disapproving and unaccepting of me”; Item 20: “My mother seems to be disappointed in me a lot”; Item 21: “My mother isn’t very sensitive to many of my needs”).

Bifurcated Parental Evaluation

A central feature of the College-Student POPS is the separate assessment of the maternal (Items 1–21) and paternal (Items 22–42) figures. Rather than combining parental behaviors into an aggregate global score, the scale permits researchers to evaluate mother-father discrepancies, cross-parental compensations (where high paternal autonomy support mitigates low maternal support), and unique maternal versus paternal contributions to emerging adult development.

6. Theoretical Framework

The Perceptions of Parents Scales is grounded in Self-Determination Theory (SDT), a macro-theory of human motivation, personality development, and psychological wellness formulated by Edward L. Deci and Richard M. Ryan. SDT postulates that all human beings possess three innate, fundamental psychological needs:

• Autonomy: The experience of volition, self-endorsement, and agency in one’s actions, feeling that one is the author of one’s own life.
• Competence: The experience of mastery, effectiveness, and capacity to attain desired behavioral outcomes.
• Relatedness: The experience of warmth, belonging, and reciprocal emotional connection with significant others.

Within the Basic Psychological Needs Theory (BPNT) sub-theory of SDT, the social environment plays an essential role in either supporting or thwarting these needs. In emerging adulthood, the transition from dependent child to self-regulating adult requires a psychological holding environment that provides both relatedness (involvement and warmth) and autonomy support (volitional encouragement).

When parents support autonomy, late adolescents internalize cultural and familial values through autonomous forms of behavioral regulation: identification and integration. Conversely, when parents exert psychological control—using guilt, shame, contingent approval, or rigid imperatives—they induce controlled regulation (introjection or external compliance), which fosters internal conflict, anxiety, and fragmented identity structures. The POPS was designed to measure these contextual antecedents.

7. Validity

The construct, convergent, discriminant, and predictive validity of the College-Student POPS has been confirmed across diverse cross-sectional and longitudinal investigations:

Construct and Convergent Validity

Construct validity is evidenced by significant positive correlations with related developmental and motivational measures. Studies by Robbins (1994) and Niemiec et al. (2006) demonstrate that scores on the POPS Autonomy Support subscales correlate positively (r = .45 to .62, p < .001) with instruments measuring general autonomy, intrinsic aspirations (personal growth, relationships, community), self-actualization, and emotional vitality. Furthermore, the Involvement subscales exhibit strong convergent correlations with measures of secure parental attachment from the Inventory of Parent and Peer Attachment (IPPA; Armsden & Greenberg, 1987), demonstrating that POPS involvement captures relational security and warmth.

Discriminant Validity

The POPS distinguishes perceived parental autonomy support from permissive neglect. Permissive parenting is characterized by an absence of involvement and guidance, whereas the POPS autonomy support dimension correlates positively with parental involvement (typically r = .40 to .55). This shows that college students experience parental autonomy support not as abandonment, but as an active, caring engagement that honors their agency.

Predictive and Criterion-Related Validity

In longitudinal research tracking university cohorts, baseline perceptions of parental autonomy support and involvement significantly predict higher grade point averages, persistent course enrollment, higher psychological well-being, and lower depression and somatic complaints over a four-year period (Niemiec et al., 2006; Soenens & Vansteenkiste, 2005). Furthermore, students reporting high parental autonomy support exhibit higher autonomous self-regulation for academic work, deeper learning strategies, and healthier identity exploration during their university careers.

8. Reliability

The College-Student POPS demonstrates robust psychometric reliability across adolescent and young-adult cohorts:

• Internal Consistency: Cronbach’s alpha coefficients for the Mother and Father subscales typically exceed acceptable thresholds. The Mother Autonomy Support subscale yields alpha values between .80 and .88, while the Mother Involvement subscale yields alphas between .82 and .91. Similarly, the Father Autonomy Support subscale consistently demonstrates internal consistency ranging from .82 to .89, and Father Involvement yields coefficients from .85 to .93 (Robbins, 1994; Niemiec et al., 2006).
• Composite Scale Reliability: Total composite scores for Perceptions of Mother and Perceptions of Father frequently attain Cronbach’s alpha values exceeding .90.
• Test-Retest Stability: In longitudinal studies with testing intervals ranging from 6 weeks to 6 months, test-retest reliability coefficients have ranged from r = .74 to r = .86, demonstrating temporal stability while remaining sensitive to genuine shifts in parent-adolescent dynamics during university transitions.

9. Factor Analysis

Psychometric studies using both exploratory factor analysis (EFA) and confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) substantiate the theoretical structure of the College-Student POPS:

Exploratory Factor Structure

Initial principal components and maximum likelihood factor analyses with oblique rotations conducted by Robbins (1994) extracted two dominant, correlated latent factors for each parent: Factor 1 representing Involvement / Warmth and Factor 2 representing Autonomy Support. Item factor loadings on their designated latent factors are robust, typically ranging from .48 to .84, with negligible cross-loadings (< .30) on secondary factors.

Confirmatory Factor Modeling

Subsequent confirmatory factor analytic studies (e.g., Niemiec et al., 2006) have verified the fit of the two-factor oblique model for both maternal and paternal ratings. Standard goodness-of-fit indices consistently support the multidimensional structure:

• Comparative Fit Index (CFI): Values consistently range between .92 and .96.
• Tucker-Lewis Index (TLI): Values routinely exceed .91.
• Root Mean Square Error of Approximation (RMSEA): Values typically range between .045 and .062 (90% CI [.040, .068]), indicating good model fit.
• Standardized Root Mean Square Residual (SRMR): Values routinely fall below .055.

CFA studies have also demonstrated measurement invariance across student genders and academic year levels, confirming that items function equivalently across diverse student subgroups.

10. Instrument / Measurement Tool

• Name: Perceptions of Parents Scales – The College-Student Scale (POPS)
• Alternate Name: Thoughts about My Parents Scale (College-Student Version)
• Theoretical Basis: Self-Determination Theory (Deci & Ryan)
• Target Population: College and university undergraduate students, late adolescents, and emerging adults (ages 17–25)
• Administration Format: Self-report questionnaire, available in paper-and-pencil or digital formats
• Completion Time: Approximately 10 to 15 minutes
• Item Count: 42 total items divided into two identical parallel batteries:
  • Mother Battery: 21 items (Items 1–21)
  • Father Battery: 21 items (Items 22–42)
• Subscales per Parent:
  • Autonomy Support: Evaluates freedom of choice, validation of feelings, and lack of controlling pressure (e.g., Items 1, 2 [rev], 5, 8, 11, 14 [rev], 17, 19).
  • Involvement / Warmth: Evaluates parental time, interest, affection, availability, and positive regard (e.g., Items 3, 4, 6 [rev], 7, 9, 10, 12 [rev], 13 [rev], 15 [rev], 16, 18, 20 [rev], 21 [rev]).
• Response Format: 7-point Likert-type scale:
  • 1 = not at all true
  • 2 = [unlabeled point]
  • 3 = [unlabeled point]
  • 4 = somewhat true
  • 5 = [unlabeled point]
  • 6 = [unlabeled point]
  • 7 = very true
• Scoring Guidelines:
  • Reverse Scoring: Items depicting controlling behaviors, rejection, or lack of involvement must be reversed prior to computing subscale or total scores (i.e., 1 becomes 7, 2 becomes 6, 3 becomes 5, 4 remains 4, 5 becomes 3, 6 becomes 2, 7 becomes 1). Reversed items include: Items 2, 6, 12, 13, 14, 15, 20, 21 (for Mother) and Items 23, 27, 33, 34, 35, 36, 41, 42 (for Father).
  • Subscale Computation: Mean scores are calculated by averaging the corresponding completed items. Higher scores reflect greater perceived autonomy support, involvement, and overall parental support.
  • Missing Parents: Instructions specify that if a respondent has no contact with one parent but lives with an adult of the same gender (e.g., stepfather or stepmother), they complete the items regarding that adult. If no surrogate adult is present, the corresponding section is left blank and not scored.

11. Permissions & Fee and Test Year

The College-Student Scale of the Perceptions of Parents Scales was developed by Steven B. Robbins, Richard M. Ryan, and Edward L. Deci in 1994, building upon the foundational childhood scales published by Grolnick and Ryan in 1989. The instrument is considered an open-access, public-domain measurement tool for non-commercial academic research and clinical educational purposes under the auspices of the Center for Self-Determination Theory (CSDT).

Researchers and clinicians may use, adapt, and administer the POPS free of royalty or licensing fees, provided that proper academic citation is given to the authors in all resulting publications and technical reports. Commercial exploitation, incorporation into proprietary digital testing products, or resale without prior written permission from the copyright holders is prohibited.

12. References

• Armsden, G. C., & Greenberg, M. T. (1987). The inventory of parent and peer attachment: Individual differences and their relationship to psychological well-being in adolescence. Journal of Youth and Adolescence, 16(5), 427–454. https://doi.org/10.1007/BF02138822
• Deci, E. L., & Ryan, R. M. (2000). The “what” and “why” of goal pursuits: Human needs and the self-determination of behavior. Psychological Inquiry, 11(4), 227–268. https://doi.org/10.1207/S15327965PLI1104_01
• Grolnick, W. S., & Ryan, R. M. (1989). Parent styles associated with children’s self-regulation and competence in school. Journal of Educational Psychology, 81(2), 143–154. https://doi.org/10.1037/0022-0663.81.2.143
• Grolnick, W. S., Ryan, R. M., & Deci, E. L. (1991). Inner resources for school achievement: Motivational mediators of children’s perceptions of their parents. Journal of Educational Psychology, 83(4), 508–517. https://doi.org/10.1037/0022-0663.83.4.508
• Niemiec, C. P., Lynch, M. F., Vansteenkiste, M., Bernstein, J., Deci, E. L., & Ryan, R. M. (2006). The antecedents and consequences of autonomous self-regulation for college: A self-determination theory perspective on socialization. Journal of Adolescence, 29(5), 761–775. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.adolescence.2005.11.009
• Robbins, S. B. (1994). The Perceptions of Parents Scales – The College-Student Scale. Unpublished manuscript, Virginia Commonwealth University. Available via https://selfdeterminationtheory.org/perceptions-of-parents/
• Ryan, R. M., & Deci, E. L. (2017). Self-determination theory: Basic psychological needs in motivation, development, and wellness. Guilford Publications. https://doi.org/10.1521/978.14625/28769
• Soenens, B., & Vansteenkiste, M. (2005). Antecedents and outcomes of self-determination in 3 life domains: The role of parents’ and teachers’ autonomy support. Journal of Youth and Adolescence, 34(6), 589–604. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10964-005-8948-y

13. Items of the Scale (Questionnaire)