For example, there is a scale that measures ‘parental warmth’. Can opposite of the parental warmth, say for example ‘parental neglect’, be obtained by reverse coding/scoring the items of the parental warmth scale? Any precedence in the literature, if shared/cited here, would be highly appreciated.
You can reverse score a scale and give it an opposite name, like one factor in the Big Five model of personality is sometimes called, "Emotional Stability" and sometimes called, "Neuroticism" (i.e., reverse scores of same scale). Your results would be the same regardless, just with opposite valences. "Neglectful parenting" already has an established meaning in Developmental Psychology - low warmth and low demandingness/expectations - so maybe a less confusing reverse-scored named for, "parental warmth" is "parental coldness." Best wishes with your research, Naseer. ~ Kevin
Dear Kevin Grobman, thank you for the much needed help and a wonderful answer.
You're welcome. Glad I could help. Best wishes with your project!
It really depends on the scale. I'd take a close look at the items, and pay particular attention to the scale's content & construct validity research before proceeding. The NEO-PI was constructed to be used in such a way, but not all scales are.
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