Parental Protective Factors in Turkey: Validation of the Parents’ Assessment of Protective Factors

Parental Protective Factors in Turkey: Validation of the Parents’ Assessment of Protective Factors | Research Square window.SnipcartSettings = { analytics: { enabled: false } }; (function() { var accessVector = localStorage.getItem('access_vector') || ''; window.dataLayer = window.dataLayer || []; if (accessVector) { window.dataLayer.push({ user: { profile: { profileInfo: { snid: accessVector } } } }); } })(); (function(w,d,s,l,i){w[l]=w[l]||[];w[l].push({'gtm.start':new Date().getTime(),event:'gtm.js'});var f=d.getElementsByTagName(s)[0],j=d.createElement(s),dl=l!='dataLayer'?'&l='+l:'';j.async=true;j.src='https://www.googletagmanager.com/gtm.js?id='+i+dl;f.parentNode.insertBefore(j,f);})(window,document,'script','dataLayer','GTM-K279D39R'); Browse Preprints In Review Journals COVID-19 Preprints AJE Video Bytes Research Tools Research Promotion AJE Professional Editing AJE Rubriq About Preprint Platform In Review Editorial Policies Our Team Advisory Board Help Center Sign In Submit a Preprint Cite Share Download PDF Research Article Parental Protective Factors in Turkey: Validation of the Parents’ Assessment of Protective Factors Nicel Yildiz Silahli, Hatice Ezgi Bariş, Mehmet Kocak, Mehmet Akif İnanıcı, and 1 more This is a preprint; it has not been peer reviewed by a journal. https://doi.org/ 10.21203/rs.3.rs-7629032/v1 This work is licensed under a CC BY 4.0 License Status: Posted Version 1 posted You are reading this latest preprint version Abstract Background Parental protective factors play a critical role in preventing child abuse and neglect. The Parents’ Assessment of Protective Factors (PAPF) is a validated instrument for assessing strengths-based parenting attributes, but a culturally adapted version has not been available for Turkish families. Objective This study aimed to adapt the PAPF for use in Turkey (PAPF-TR) and evaluate its reliability, validity, and cultural suitability. Participants and Setting The study was conducted between February and June 2024 in Istanbul with a population-based sample of 516 parents of children aged 0–8 years, ensuring representation of both mothers and fathers. Methods In this cross-sectional study, participants completed the PAPF-TR and the Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACE) questionnaire through face-to-face interviews. Psychometric evaluation included internal consistency, factor analyses, test–retest reliability, and item discrimination. Correlations and regression analyses were used to examine associations between protective factors, ACE scores, and sociodemographic variables. Results The PAPF-TR demonstrated excellent reliability and strong construct validity. Test–retest analyses confirmed stability over time. Higher protective factor scores were associated with being married and having higher education, whereas older parental age and greater ACE exposure predicted lower protective factor levels. Protective factor scores were inversely correlated with ACE exposure, supporting the scale’s validity. Conclusions The PAPF-TR is a reliable and valid tool for assessing parental protective factors in Turkey. Its strong psychometric performance supports its use in both research and applied settings and provides an empirical foundation for the development of culturally relevant family-based prevention programs. Parental protective factors Child abuse and neglect prevention Psychometric validation Adverse childhood experiences (ACE) Cultural adaptation Full Text Additional Declarations No competing interests reported. Cite Share Download PDF Status: Posted Version 1 posted You are reading this latest preprint version Research Square lets you share your work early, gain feedback from the community, and start making changes to your manuscript prior to peer review in a journal. As a division of Research Square Company, we’re committed to making research communication faster, fairer, and more useful. We do this by developing innovative software and high quality services for the global research community. Our growing team is made up of researchers and industry professionals working together to solve the most critical problems facing scientific publishing. Also discoverable on Platform About Our Team In Review Editorial Policies Advisory Board Help Center Resources Author Services Accessibility API Access RSS feed Manage Cookie Preferences © Research Square 2026 | ISSN 2693-5015 (online) Privacy Policy Terms of Service Do Not Sell My Personal Information {"props":{"pageProps":{"initialData":{"identity":"rs-7629032","acceptedTermsAndConditions":true,"allowDirectSubmit":true,"archivedVersions":[],"articleType":"Research Article","associatedPublications":[],"authors":[{"id":587114198,"identity":"bd37e5f3-f2da-4923-a09f-fca13293cf16","order_by":0,"name":"Nicel Yildiz Silahli","email":"data:image/png;base64,iVBORw0KGgoAAAANSUhEUgAAAZAAAAAyAQMAAABI0h/eAAAABlBMVEX///8AAABVwtN+AAAACXBIWXMAAA7EAAAOxAGVKw4bAAABFElEQVRIie3RMUvEMBQH8HcE0iWYtYPXz9AjgxyIfpWEg07FuYMclQPdnE8Q/QqdnB8E7paKa8cGV4eO3fS13hgzO+QPKSG8H+8lBYiJ+Y9htHoAcQZigbrS0xlt6FOHCBUIDgJQtzOBE2F/d5rqZrK4PxEIkIuEuV7D9pwn74jupcjkg0Xs4XLZoDwMHrLecZVrsIKLG43mrVRpW2garFANMrb3kJyKUw1IdylzIpWpO5ETsWYivsGIJCMNJrj8IvJcmddODkS+Q4TT9Rn1mrrUpWm66ekAA4SrVM/jURd9KNSqLWiTb9STZcpLPqwbhmp7LWW5cuPtJsuO1rmxulo+Hu8+va/8C70ngT8ZExMTExPODzBPZRrgjzYKAAAAAElFTkSuQmCC","orcid":"","institution":"Kocaeli University","correspondingAuthor":true,"prefix":"","firstName":"Nicel","middleName":"Yildiz","lastName":"Silahli","suffix":""},{"id":587114201,"identity":"2a28e732-fd60-44ff-9a5f-dab01ca8b674","order_by":1,"name":"Hatice Ezgi Bariş","email":"","orcid":"","institution":"Marmara University","correspondingAuthor":false,"prefix":"","firstName":"Hatice","middleName":"Ezgi","lastName":"Bariş","suffix":""},{"id":587114202,"identity":"c51f9158-0c1f-49af-929f-7ceaaa951e90","order_by":2,"name":"Mehmet Kocak","email":"","orcid":"","institution":"Istanbul Medipol University","correspondingAuthor":false,"prefix":"","firstName":"Mehmet","middleName":"","lastName":"Kocak","suffix":""},{"id":587114203,"identity":"ce44df2c-9acb-48e0-8eff-57df7e7e666b","order_by":3,"name":"Mehmet Akif İnanıcı","email":"","orcid":"","institution":"Marmara University","correspondingAuthor":false,"prefix":"","firstName":"Mehmet","middleName":"Akif","lastName":"İnanıcı","suffix":""},{"id":587114204,"identity":"1fc385c4-d1f4-469c-9673-699ffc423dd8","order_by":4,"name":"Perran Boran","email":"","orcid":"","institution":"Marmara University","correspondingAuthor":false,"prefix":"","firstName":"Perran","middleName":"","lastName":"Boran","suffix":""}],"badges":[],"createdAt":"2025-09-16 10:08:32","currentVersionCode":1,"declarations":"","doi":"10.21203/rs.3.rs-7629032/v1","doiUrl":"https://doi.org/10.21203/rs.3.rs-7629032/v1","draftVersion":[],"editorialEvents":[],"editorialNote":"","failedWorkflow":false,"files":[{"id":102172395,"identity":"14e51f3d-5d95-4f56-a455-481d1acb4a4d","added_by":"auto","created_at":"2026-02-09 04:55:29","extension":"pdf","order_by":1,"title":"","display":"","copyAsset":false,"role":"manuscript-pdf","size":641488,"visible":true,"origin":"","legend":"","description":"","filename":"FAMILYPAPF.pdf","url":"https://assets-eu.researchsquare.com/files/rs-7629032/v1_covered_9de87fe5-6cf6-4563-9e59-69f2b0300d8c.pdf"}],"financialInterests":"No competing interests reported.","formattedTitle":"Parental Protective Factors in Turkey: Validation of the Parents’ Assessment of Protective Factors","fulltext":[],"fulltextSource":"","fullText":"","funders":[],"hasAdminPriorityOnWorkflow":false,"hasManuscriptDocX":false,"hasOptedInToPreprint":true,"hasPassedJournalQc":"","hasAnyPriority":false,"hideJournal":true,"highlight":"","institution":"","isAcceptedByJournal":false,"isAuthorSuppliedPdf":true,"isDeskRejected":"","isHiddenFromSearch":false,"isInQc":false,"isInWorkflow":false,"isPdf":true,"isPdfUpToDate":true,"isWithdrawnOrRetracted":false,"journal":{"display":true,"email":"[email protected]","identity":"researchsquare","isNatureJournal":false,"hasQc":true,"allowDirectSubmit":true,"externalIdentity":"","sideBox":"","snPcode":"","submissionUrl":"/submission","title":"Research Square","twitterHandle":"researchsquare","acdcEnabled":true,"dfaEnabled":false,"editorialSystem":"","reportingPortfolio":"","inReviewEnabled":false,"inReviewRevisionsEnabled":true},"keywords":"Parental protective factors, Child abuse and neglect prevention, Psychometric validation, Adverse childhood experiences (ACE), Cultural adaptation","lastPublishedDoi":"10.21203/rs.3.rs-7629032/v1","lastPublishedDoiUrl":"https://doi.org/10.21203/rs.3.rs-7629032/v1","license":{"name":"CC BY 4.0","url":"https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/"},"manuscriptAbstract":"\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eBackground\u003c/strong\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\nParental protective factors play a critical role in preventing child abuse and neglect. The Parents’ Assessment of Protective Factors (PAPF) is a validated instrument for assessing strengths-based parenting attributes, but a culturally adapted version has not been available for Turkish families.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eObjective\u003c/strong\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\nThis study aimed to adapt the PAPF for use in Turkey (PAPF-TR) and evaluate its reliability, validity, and cultural suitability.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eParticipants and Setting\u003c/strong\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\nThe study was conducted between February and June 2024 in Istanbul with a population-based sample of 516 parents of children aged 0–8 years, ensuring representation of both mothers and fathers.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eMethods\u003c/strong\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\nIn this cross-sectional study, participants completed the PAPF-TR and the Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACE) questionnaire through face-to-face interviews. Psychometric evaluation included internal consistency, factor analyses, test–retest reliability, and item discrimination. Correlations and regression analyses were used to examine associations between protective factors, ACE scores, and sociodemographic variables.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eResults\u003c/strong\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\nThe PAPF-TR demonstrated excellent reliability and strong construct validity. Test–retest analyses confirmed stability over time. Higher protective factor scores were associated with being married and having higher education, whereas older parental age and greater ACE exposure predicted lower protective factor levels. Protective factor scores were inversely correlated with ACE exposure, supporting the scale’s validity.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eConclusions\u003c/strong\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\nThe PAPF-TR is a reliable and valid tool for assessing parental protective factors in Turkey. Its strong psychometric performance supports its use in both research and applied settings and provides an empirical foundation for the development of culturally relevant family-based prevention programs.\u003c/p\u003e","manuscriptTitle":"Parental Protective Factors in Turkey: Validation of the Parents’ Assessment of Protective Factors","msid":"","msnumber":"","nonDraftVersions":[{"code":1,"date":"2026-02-09 04:54:40","doi":"10.21203/rs.3.rs-7629032/v1","editorialEvents":[{"type":"communityComments","content":0}],"status":"published","journal":{"display":true,"email":"[email protected]","identity":"researchsquare","isNatureJournal":false,"hasQc":true,"allowDirectSubmit":true,"externalIdentity":"","sideBox":"","snPcode":"","submissionUrl":"/submission","title":"Research Square","twitterHandle":"researchsquare","acdcEnabled":true,"dfaEnabled":false,"editorialSystem":"","reportingPortfolio":"","inReviewEnabled":false,"inReviewRevisionsEnabled":true}}],"origin":"","ownerIdentity":"2f41dadc-cae0-429d-9ac7-64244516cae9","owner":[],"postedDate":"February 9th, 2026","published":true,"recentEditorialEvents":[],"rejectedJournal":[],"revision":"","amendment":"","status":"posted","subjectAreas":[],"tags":[],"updatedAt":"2026-02-09T04:54:40+00:00","versionOfRecord":[],"versionCreatedAt":"2026-02-09 04:54:40","video":"","vorDoi":"","vorDoiUrl":"","workflowStages":[]},"version":"v1","identity":"rs-7629032","journalConfig":"researchsquare"},"__N_SSP":true},"page":"/article/[identity]/[[...version]]","query":{"redirect":"/article/rs-7629032","identity":"rs-7629032","version":["v1"]},"buildId":"XKTyCvWXoU3ODBz1xrDgd","isFallback":false,"isExperimentalCompile":false,"dynamicIds":[84888],"gssp":true,"scriptLoader":[]}