Biological Essentialism in Parenting: Validating a cross-cultural measure across diverse family structures

This study introduces and validates the Biological Essentialism in Parenting Questionnaire (BEPQ), a new instrument designed to assess beliefs that men and women possess inherent, biologically determined differences in parenting roles. Despite evolving norms favoring gender-equal parenting, essentialist views continue to influence family dynamics, workplace policies, and cultural expectations. In Study 1 (N = 488, Poland), we developed the BEPQ and confirmed a two-factor structure, distinguishing maternal and paternal essentialism, through exploratory factor analysis. Both subscales demonstrated high internal consistency and negative correlations with gender-neutral parenting beliefs, supporting their reliability and convergent validity. Study 2 (N = 1249) extended validation to parents in Poland, Italy, and Sweden. Confirmatory factor analysis and multigroup modeling established strict measurement invariance across countries and gender identities, ensuring robust cross-cultural applicability. Findings showed that Polish parents most strongly endorsed essentialist beliefs, followed by Italian and then Swedish parents. Heterosexual parents reported stronger essentialist views than LGBTQ+ parents, men showed higher paternal essentialism, and women endorsed maternal essentialism more strongly, with non-binary parents consistently reporting the lowest levels across both dimensions. By providing a reliable and cross-culturally validated tool, the BEPQ advances research on how biological essentialist ideologies maintain gendered caregiving roles within diverse family structures. These findings can inform interventions and policies aimed at promoting gender equality in family life