New evidence on the validity of the Arnett Caregiver Interaction Scale: Results from the Early Childhood Longitudinal Study-Birth Cohort.

The Arnett Caregiver Interaction Scale (CIS) has been widely used in research studies to measure the quality of caregiver-child interactions. The scale was modeled on a well-established theory of parenting, but there are few psychometric studies of its validity. We applied factor analyses and item response theory methods to assess the psychometric properties of the Arnett CIS in a national sample of toddlers in home-based care and preschoolers in center-based care from the Early Childhood Longitudinal Study-Birth Cohort. We found that a bifactor structure (one common factor and a second set of specific factors) best fits the data. In the Arnett CIS, the bifactor model distinguishes a common substantive dimension from two methodological dimensions (for positively and negatively oriented items). Despite the good fit of this model, the items are skewed (most teachers/caregivers display positive interactions with children) and, as a result, the Arnett CIS is not well suited to distinguish between caregivers who are "highly" versus "moderately" positive in their interactions with children, according to the items on the scale. Regression-adjusted associations between the Arnett CIS and child outcomes are small, especially for preschoolers in centers. We encourage future scale development work on measures of child care quality by early childhood scholars.