Cross-national invariance of dimensions of parental rearing behaviour: comparison of psychometric data of Swedish depressives and healthy subjects with Dutch target ratings on the EMBU.

A psychometric study on Swedish and Dutch samples used the EMBU, a self-report instrument designed to assess memories of parents' rearing behaviour. Of the four primary factors identified previously with Dutch individuals (Rejection, Emotional Warmth, Over-protection, and Favouring Subject), the first three were retrieved in a similar form in the two Swedish groups (depressives and healthy, non-patients). Examination of the metric equivalence of the scales and the strength of the factors for each group indicated that comparisons of patterns and levels between groups from the respective countries on the three factors showing cross-national constancy would be warranted. Scale-level factor analyses of these dimensions produced identical two-factor compositions (CARE and PROTECTION) across national groups which further supported this conclusion.