The Initial Validation of a Liking of Children Scale

This article describes the initial research involving the Barnett Liking of Children Scale (BLOCS), a 14-item measure that assesses the extent to which individuals have a favorable attitude toward children. The BLOCS was found to have acceptable internal and test-retest reliability, in addition, individual differences in the liking of children were associated with an individual's gender, sex-role orientation, and a variety of attitudes concerning childrearing and children's behavior. Future research involving the BLOCS is briefly discussed.