Development and Validation of the Family Patriarchy Questionnaire (FPQ) in Polish Adults

Although family support for patriarchal culture during childhood and adolescence has been identified as a potential contributor to mental health problems and relationship difficulties in adulthood, research on this issue remains limited. Existing studies and measures often fail to capture the multidimensional complexity of patriarchal culture within families. To address this gap, the present research developed and validated the Family Patriarchy Questionnaire (FPQ), a novel measure of perceived family support for patriarchal culture. Three online studies were conducted with Polish adults: Study 1 (N = 496), Study 2 (N = 180), and Study 3 (N = 1,156). Participants completed the FPQ alongside other measures to evaluate reliability and construct validity. Confirmatory factor analysis supported an eight-factor-model: Subordination of Girls, Hostility toward Women, Inferior Child Roles, Authority and Dominance of Men, Justification of Violence, Rape Myths, Family Secrets, and Women’s Emotionality, and confirmed the measure’s gender invariance. Excellent reliability was observed in all three samples. Higher FPQ scores correlated with greater attachment anxiety and avoidance, lower self-esteem, more pronounced difficulties in emotion regulation, stronger sexism beliefs, and elevated symptoms of anxiety and depression. These findings suggest that the FPQ is a robust tool for assessing family support for patriarchal culture and may aid researchers and clinicians in understanding and mitigating the adverse psychological and relational outcomes associated with patriarchal family environments.