HOW THIS TEST WORKS
How What Is My Parenting Style? works
How version core-v1 is scored, and what it can and cannot tell you.
How it is scored
This test is based on research on parenting styles. Diana Baumrind described three styles in the 1960s and 1970s, and Maccoby and Martin (1983) added a fourth. They sort parenting by how warm and responsive it is, and how much it expects and sets limits. That gives four styles: warm and firm (authoritative), rules first (authoritarian), following their lead (permissive), and stepping back (uninvolved). On average, studies link warm and firm parenting with better outcomes for children, across many countries (Baumrind, 1971; Pinquart, 2017; Pinquart and Kauser, 2018). The style names in this test are our own.
Part 1 has 24 sentences, six for each style. Each one gives 0 to 4 points to its style. Part 2 has 18 pairs of choices. Every style is paired with every other style three times, and the choice you pick gives 3.1 points to its style. Every style can earn the same total, so the scores compare fairly.
Each style score runs from 0 to 100. Your main style is your highest score. Most parents use more than one style, so look at all four.
PersonalitySite.com wrote all of these questions and descriptions. They are not copied from any other test.
What it cannot tell you
This test is for learning about yourself. It is not a diagnosis, and it is not an evaluation of your parenting. Do not use it for custody, legal, child-welfare, or school decisions, and do not use it to judge any parent.
Research on parenting styles shows averages, and the links are not proof of cause. Children's temperament, culture, money, health, and many other things matter too. A strict style can look different, and mean something different, in different communities.
Your style can change with your child's age, your stress, and the day. If two styles are close, you may use both about equally. This version has not yet been tested with a large group of people, so we do not yet know how accurate it is.